The interior of Castle Harpis was much more extravagant than one might expect. Harpis and his followers were wiped out almost six hundred years ago. While signs of abandonment were obvious on the outside, the inside had been worked on extensively. A fancy brown rug with white trimmings led to a grand staircase leading higher into the castle. On either side of the staircase were two large doors, and to the left and right were open doorways that led further into the castle. There were various busts, though some appeared only recently restored and put back tougher, that lined the hall. They depicted the head of a male harpy, which Sen could only assume was the dead god known as Harpis. At the top of the stairs was a full statue. A muscular man with wings instead of arms, and thick fur that ran from the sides of his stomach all the way to the sides of his chest and along his wings. His legs were those of a human until about his ankles, where they transitioned into the talons of an eagle. 

The painting of the walls was chipped, and apparently the cultists hadn’t dealt with it yet. The scent of stale air still lingered, but other than that, it was a fairly nice castle. 

He wondered how hard it would be to destroy it.

Ano looked straight up at the ceiling beside him.

“Do you sense something?” Sen asked.

The blue-haired boy nodded. “Yeah. My uh…friend. He’s upstairs. I can feel him,” Ano said. The only one who knew about his sleep paralysis demon was Sen. If Ano wanted to keep it that way, he had no problem respecting that. 

From what he gathered of Ano’s story, Sen suspected the demon would be with the other students. If that were the case, their best bet was to move up as soon as possible. Time was running out to rescue the others before the barrier expired. They had to move now. “Upstairs it is, then. Everyone, be ready.”

Samara’s hand rested on the hilt of her sword. She’d be ready to draw in an instant. Joseia fed power into his rune-bone boots. They allowed him to increase his speed and power significantly, among a few other things. Ano fluffed the pillow in his hands. They were ready as could be. It turned out it wasn’t quite enough.

The floor above them creaked under the pressure of a heavy weight. This time, everyone looked up.

“Uh, what was that? Something fall?” Samara asked. Her sword slid a few inches upward. She was preparing to draw it. The noise came from directly above them. That was odd. 

The ceiling creaked under another explosion of force. As they watched, splinters fell from the ceiling. 

“Bubble Catch!” Sen hurried. A large bubble enveloped them and caught the splinter shrapnel before it could hit anyone. But when they saw the flesh golem’s eyes peering through at them, suddenly sharp fragments of wood were the least of their concerns. 

Sen shook his head. “With me!” he called out. They ran toward the open doorway on their left, getting out of the way as the Flesh Golem crashed through the floor above. 

As they ran, Ano looked back. “What’s the plan? How do we bring that thing down?” he asked.

Sen turned back. The flesh golem lumbered after them. Its legs grew more muscular and powerful as it ran. With each stride, it adapted more to the situation. Despite its massive size, it was becoming a predator capable of running them down. They’d lure it into an ideal environment for a fight and then deal with it there. 

Or that was the plan until he felt the snap. 

He hadn’t been able to sense the barrier he’d placed around Ilm. He knew it would hold up, but he couldn’t check on it with her being so far away. Now, they were in the same building, and over an hour before it was supposed to give out, he’d just felt the spell’s connection burn out like a candle in a river.

It changed everything. “Ano, get them upstairs. Find the others. Save them. I’ll deal with this.”

Ano skidded to a stop, despite the lumbering monstrosity that was quickly catching up to them. He flung a hand and his pillow shot forward and smacked into the creature’s face. The creature ripped it apart. Which caused Ano to grunt. 

Sen focused his own attention on the doorway between them and the flesh golem. “Fortress Hold Maxima!” A door of silver blockaded the path seconds before the creature slammed into it. A dent the size of a flesh golem shot right through. Sen frowned. That wasn’t going to hold long at all. “The protective barrier I placed on the students just broke. There isn’t any time left. Find them. I’ll deal with this and catch up.”

Ano’s eyes widened. He understood the situation. That was good. “Alright, Samara, Joseia, with me.” He noticed something past Sen, and he cracked a grin. “Perfect!” He held a hand out, and two couch pillows shot up and floated on either side of him. “We’ll be seeing ya, bro. Don’t die!” With that, the top-ranked Green Book student ran on ahead. Samara nodded at Sen, then followed. Joseia hesitated for a second. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but he just put his head down and followed the others. 

Sen turned to face the door. This room seemed like a reading room of sorts. There were a few couches and bookshelves, but nothing that caught his eye. Nothing all that useful for a fight. It was small, and the flesh golem would prefer close quarters. In a way, that meant Sen was at a disadvantage. But he wouldn’t dare lose to the product of his own mind. Or at least, work built on the foundation of his own research. Sharpened claws of meat like fingers crashed through the door and peeled the metal away like clay. The flesh golem pressed itself through the gap, deforming and reforming on the other side.

[This thing is really gross. Could we kill it without touching it? That would be great.]

Sen raised his hands and pointed toward the golem in front of him. “Tri-infernal Hellscape Maxima!” he yelled. 

The room filled with…a single puff of fire that shot forward and sputtered out on the creature. Sen paused and looked at his hands. “What was that?” he asked. 

[It happens to the best of them. Try again, bud.]

The flesh golem’s face cracked into something that resembled a smile. Its teeth jutted out from its mouth at every odd angle. It slowly approached him, each lumbering step taking an eternity. Was it playing with him? Did it think itself so powerful that it didn’t need to take him seriously?

He expanded his focus on the room around him and felt the reason for his magic not working. It also explained why Ano’s pillow hadn’t done much and the door barrier hadn’t held up. Something was suppressing magic power. It was coming from…below? 

That was the final thought Sen had when the creature suddenly made its move. One moment it’d been a dozen feet away, the next it crossed the space in an instant. It raised two fleshy hands above its head and brought them crashing down toward him.

Mana Protection surrounded his body, but he could feel its weakened effects. Its effectiveness was easily reduced by about half. The fist slammed into him and the floor beneath him gave way. He fell like a comet from space through the floor of the castle. Into a pit of darkness. He slammed into the ground. Beside him, it sounded as if something else slammed into the ground as well. But he focused above on the flesh golem staring down at him. At this rate, he’d have to fight that creature with suppressed powers in the dark. He rolled his neck in anticipation. At least it would be fun. But to his surprise, the flesh golem waved at him, as if saying goodbye. Then, it turned and lumbered back the way it came. The ceiling above creaked as it repaired itself. He realized the ceiling wasn’t made of wood like the layer above it, but instead it was a type of metal. Was this room some kind of trap? A moment later, the hole closed, and Sen was completely in the dark. 

“What?” Sen looked around, waiting for his eyes to adjust. Another strange noise came from nearby. It sounded like a man’s groan. 

“Ugh…” 

Sen slowly reached a hand in the general direction but felt nothing. Impulsively, he lunged forward and slapped the air blindly. He hit something. 

“Ow!” 

This time he was sure of it. An invisible man lingered in the darkness. “Who’s there?” Sen called out. 

But before an answer came, he felt a powerful presence behind him. He turned just in time to see the silhouette with arms outstretched. Small but powerful flames erupted in their hands. Despite the fire, Sen still couldn’t see very well. It must be the effect of some kind of shadow magic. Having to fight blind and with his powers diminished was quite a disadvantage. But he’d faced worse. At the moment before the flame bearer attacked, he turned and held a palm out toward the invisible man. “Kiss of Wind Maxim!” The gust sent the figure flying through the room. The man slammed into a wall, and something metallic clanged against the ground. So he’d been planning to stab Sen. 

He’d deal with that opponent later. For now, the bigger threat was in front of him. Flame rushed close, and Sen jumped back to dodge. He surrounded himself with Mana Encapsulation and fueled his body with Aggression. He’d clear this trial and get upstairs as soon as he could. There wasn’t time to waste. His team had gone on without him. Ilm and the others weren’t safe any longer, and that flesh golem was on the loose. 

A flurry of wild, chaotic attacks continued. He focused on dodging, more than once coming within an inch of having his face smashed by the fiery heat of the flames. But his opening came eventually. The attacker swung too wildly and lost his balance. Sen stepped in with a fist empowered by his hybrid stat and feigned as if he would strike the enemy’s face. A flaming hand went to cover it, and then he pivoted to strike a hole through his opponent’s core. Sen caught a hint of their identity. 

“Alari?” he said, more in surprise than anything. His fist stopped short of striking her. She, on the other hand, didn’t hesitate. She brought a fist forward and clocked him on the chin. Though she wasn’t channeling her fire anymore. The attack did nothing. His head didn’t so much as move. He straightened up. “What are you doing here?” he asked. He turned to look over his shoulder. “And who was that invisible guy?” 

Alari’s eyes widened at that. “What invisible guy?” she asked. 

But their conversation stopped as a horde of footsteps shuffled toward them. Alari cursed. “They’re back.”

“Who is?” Sen turned, scanning the dark for the newcomers. 

“Fleshies. Lots of them.” The flames returned to her hands, but they were more embers now than anything. “Don’t let them touch you. Trust me.” 

[Analysis of situation complete. I believe with a slight modification we can use enhanced eyesight to pierce through the veil of darkness.]

Tutor’s instructions came to him in a flash. “Enhanced Eyesight Shadow Pierce.” 

It worked. It was only a minimal improvement, but he could see slightly better within about a five-foot radius. That was when he realized what a fleshy was.

Human-sized flesh golems surrounded them. With a sigh, he called more magic forth from his body. 

“Let’s get to work.”