Demon continent Alsace in the year 237 in the 8-month Mogum on the 27th day after the shattering of the empire.
In the last few days, she had found all the different breeding grounds of the monsters and had observed them for a few days to learn more about the use of the runes and mandalas.
The snake-like monsters were just as helpful as the Hangistkata and seemed concerned with her liking them, as they seemed to do whatever she muttered to herself. The other monsters were not as cooperative, which might have something to do with the fact that she was killing her fellow monsters, for her food supply and her own interest. Though, she was able to explore the monsters from further afield. Learn their daily routine and study their hunting behavior. Some monsters she also sneaked after, to see what they were doing and if they held more secrets.
So it happened that today she followed a bear-like monster with six legs and two long tails with pointed dagger-like ends. The magic that these monsters used was similar to body art and did the same thing, but was caused by magic instead of body art. The body also did not have the advantages that a body art user had, which was that its muscles and bones were more durable and stronger with more endurance. Also, similar to body art, it made attacks in which it manifested arcane energy outside its body and fired it as a kind of projectile or blade at its opponents. She had named them Arjkakharda since they were magical bears to her and she did not know any stories about them or had otherwise heard of them, which is why she had given them a name herself. Possibly she would learn the real name at a later time.
She had followed the Arjkakharda to the edge of a clearing, from where she could watch it disappear behind a mountain of moss and creepers, mindful of her volume, she set off in pursuit of the Arjkakharda. She made it to said hill without much trouble and with her senses, she could already see several more similar hills on her mental map. She could also see the Arjkakharda, it seemed to her that he was also moving more carefully. He kept looking from right to left and back again, was he expecting an attack? She followed him at a safe distance, doing the same as he did there, if an Arjkakharda, which was the size of a small horse-drawn carriage, kept looking after danger, she better imitate him. The soft crunch of something heavy on stone was heard, immediately the Arjkakharda stopped and looked around. Just like her, however, he couldn't seem to see anything, even though he was fifteen meters ahead of her, in the middle of an open area that seemed to be framed by the strange hills. Further crunching, as if something ton heavy was moving, slight trembling was felt through the earth.
Slowly, and getting closer with each tremor, a shadow crept across the ground until it covered the Arjkakharda. The monster turned to face the new danger and seemed to be getting ready to attack. At last, the threat was there for her to see, once with her senses and once with her eyes. It was a large human shape, almost as tall as the hills around it. Just like them, it was overgrown with moss and plants. With each step, the earth burst open, revealing stone. Parts of his plant dress swung back and forth, other parts fell to the ground, without the green giant seemed to care.
The Arjkakharda stood up on his hind legs, probably to appear taller and thus deter his opponent from attacking. This, however, did not seem to interest the green giant, who simply continued to walk towards the Arjkakharda without any sign of fear or any other sensation. That the green giant had noticed her, however, was clear from the fact that where she thought the monster's head was, there was a movement, similar to the turning of a head. Nevertheless, it continued on its way and after only three steps had arrived at the Arjkakharda. In a flash, although she could still see the movement with her naked eyes, one of the giant's arms shot towards the Arjkakharda to decapitate it. The latter, however, seemed to have expected this and a barrier was created, which the giant's fist met. The force was great enough to drive both opponents away from each other.
The Arjkakharda shook his head in a daze, saliva flying everywhere. The giant had a short time to struggle to keep his balance. Both opponents were about the same strength, both at level six. Only she didn't quite know what the giant was using, even though she strongly doubted that he was a psion, which left only body art or magic. He hadn't cast either yet, at least she hadn't sensed any of the three from him. Another tremor ran through the floor, this one coming from behind her. She turned, only to see, on the edge of her perception, another Green Giant came around one of the hills. This one walked a little differently than his colleague who was fighting the Arjkakharda, it seemed to her that he was dragging a leg and had something wrong with his back, for he was quite a bit smaller and more bent forward than his colleague. Nevertheless, he came at her with unflinching speed, getting caught on one of the hills. Without slowing him down, he continued running, taking the hill with him. What appeared were rooms separated by walls and protected from wind and weather by ceilings and roofs. Now the house, which like the others had been reclaimed by the flora, would have to withstand the elements without walls and roof.
She seemed to be fighting against the new inhabitants in a kind of ruined city. Which seemed to be green Giants, at least with the eyes. If she focused her senses more, she could see under the dress of moss and plants. They were Golems with the appearance of oversized demons, the Golem in front of her had four arms like many demons she had seen. One of his legs seemed to be damaged, so he pulled it behind him, tearing up the road as if with a plow and supporting himself with his two lower arms, hence the bent posture of the golem. She could see no flow of arcane energy, either for magic or for body art. She strongly doubted that a golem would use psioni since she could not perceive spirit either.
What she could perceive, however, was a construct of a mind, but it seemed to follow certain rules and had no thought process as humans or demons had. But only the inquiry of certain possibilities and the exclusion of certain possibilities, after which the golem seemed to act. However, in the time it had taken her to learn this, which had taken only a few moments, it had come right up to her and was now swinging out a fist to mash her. She strongly doubted that she had enough mass to withstand such a blow, she was also not yet experienced enough when it came to anchoring herself and her barriers in the ground. Until now she had only fought against smaller opponents without much mass, or whose magic or body art attacks had been too weak to move her, she had not yet been able to train them. As she could see now, a big mistake on her part.
The golem's fist came crashing down on her, burying itself in the street with a deafening crack. With a quick step to the left, she had dodged the fist, only to now dodge the other fist of the left arm, which was already heading towards her. Dodging it by rolling backward, she immediately had to leap to the side, learning from her initial mistake she dodged to the right this time. In a flash, the golem's upper body turned around its own axis and brought its left arm like a catapult in her direction. Letting herself fall backward, she rolled off across the torn-up road, which had been piled up by the golem as he pulled his fist out of the road, and was caught by the collar. With the sound of tearing clothes, she was dragged along and thrown against the wall of the house opposite. The impact caused all air to escape from her lungs, already the golem above her was about to lash out with both arms at her figure lying on the ground. With a quick turn, she was able to escape through the golem's legs, where it immediately tried to crush her by sitting on top of her. She had also escaped this fate only by a hair's breadth.
Again, the golem's upper body turned around its own axis and she had to dodge its arms again, which she succeeded in doing this time. All the greenery around the golem made dodging more difficult, with branches and roots sticking out from its body, which it had just caught her on once before. This is why she immersed him in a firestorm that was supposed to burn all the greenery to ashes, which it did. However, this seemed to help the golem at first, because in the next moment it could move faster than before.
It was said about golems that they were pretty much immune to elemental magic or physical damage, similar to dragons. Something she would test as she fired the projectiles she had collected during the fight now at the golem. Under loudest roar, she went into close combat with the Golem reinforced by body art, always careful not to get caught by it. Dancing through her own magic and projectile attacks, she began to work the golem with her fists and legs.
The slight shocks she received from the direction of the other Golem and its fight against the Arjkakharda from time to time both came into her field of vision and within the range of her senses before the Golem or the ruins of a house blocked her view or they were out of reach of her senses. She kept fighting the Golem, over and over again she had to let go of it or was thrown around by a blow that grazed her. Instead, she could see how the individual elements strained the golem's skin and how individual pieces of its stony skin fell off here and there.
Her hands, arms, and legs began to ache despite the reinforcement of body art. This is why she had to enter the golem's construct and interfere with its process. Surprisingly, she had to defend herself against a counter-attack of the construct while she was penetrating it.
Also in the fight of their two bodies against each other, she had to experience how he changed his tactics. Which she only welcomed, shortening the intervals between each elemental magical attack to inflict the most damage on the Golem's skin.
The noise of battle from the direction of the other golem and the Arjkakharda was barely audible to her until she perceived more vibrations from that direction.
Then she managed to interrupt the processes of the construct and had free force to direct all her power to the golem without dodging. She only had to fend off the mental attacks of the golem, but this was an easy task for her. After only a few moments, she had also figured out the body art within the construct that made the golem's skin so strong against all her attacks. Copying it immediately, she deactivated it on the Golem in front of her. Immediately, large pieces of the golem fell down, revealing a core from which interconnected runes led away and stretched across the entire inner skeleton of the golem. Using telekinesis like magic and body art to push this core out of its moorings, she could eventually kill the golem or rob it of its body, as the mental attacks continued.
Already she had to dodge the fist of another golem, which catapulted the body of the other golem into the nearest house. The slight tremors that went through the ground told her that more golems were on their way to her. Already the first Fauna-covered Golem came around a wall of houses further down from where she had come, and another from where the Golem and the Arjkakharda had fought. She was surrounded with more reinforcements of the enemy coming.
