Dorothy and her companions ran for their lives when the colossal golem started to move, raising its right leg, planning to stomp them beneath its feet. Fortunately, it was very slow, probably due to its size. Even though Julia cast "Slow" on the golem and "Agility" on the party, it seemed pointless.

"We can't make it!" Julia shouted as she ran like never before in her life.

"Can't you just fly!?" Ruda asked Julia the obvious question.

"What do you think?!" Julia replied, annoyed as she struggled to breathe and even speak.

"Shut it, you two, and just run!", Dorothy ordered as Iris just remained silent, running ahead as she was faster than them.

"Carry me, Iris!" Julia begged Iris, but Iris just ignored her.

"Don't you have anything with wheels?" Julia, getting tired, asked Ruda one more question.

"I'm not some miracle worker! I didn't expect we'd be running from a stone giant!" Ruda, even exhausted, mustered the strength to respond to Julia's absurd inquiries. But at that moment, Ruda remembered something. "Wait, I may have something!" She took something out from her bag while running, spilling out some of the contents.

The golem's foot started to descend towards them. "Whatever you have to do, do it fast!" Julia urged Ruda as she still rummaged her bag.

"Don't rush me!" Ruda responded, finally pulling an equipment from her bag. "Iris, take this and when I give the signal, shoot it at the farthest thing you see!" Ruda handed Iris an equipment. "Connect the belt and hand it to the others!" Ruda instructed. The golem's foot was almost upon them. When all of them were connected together, Ruda shouted, "Now!" giving the signal.

A gigantic quake and a booming echo were heard throughout Sylvenspire as the golem stomped its foot, crushing and flattening anything and everything under it. Dust and smoke filled the entire forest followed by a schockwave, felling some nearby trees.

"That... That was close," Julia sighed as she hyperventilated, recalling that they almost died. Dorothy and the others also sighed in relief and hyperventilated due to the horror they just avoided. "You could've thought about that sooner!" Julia exclaimed, who still found the strength to blame Ruda.

"Well, excuse me for saving your sorry backside!" Ruda retorted at Julia's criticism. "Even so, you saved our hides with that contraption, Ruda," Dorothy expressed her gratitude. Iris examined the peculiar contraption in her hand, a handheld spear with hooks of some sort that shot rapidly with a wire made of strong fiber attached that lodged into trees. "That's called the 'grappling hook launcher' that I designed." Ruda explained while looking at Iris. "It's a grappling hook but faster, longer and easier to use, pretty handy in traversing mountains and trees, although I never thought I'd use it to outrun a golem." Ruda added as she took the grappling hook launcher from Iris and checked the contraption for any damages. "It needs to be tweaked a bit more, it almost couldn't handle our combined weight." Ruda explained. "Are you saying we're fat?" Julia commented, looking at Ruda with her brow raised. "No, just you," Ruda responded in a monotonous tone, teasing Julia. "How dare you!" Julia retorted, putting her hands on her waist in a livid manner.

Thanks to Ruda's contraption, they were able to escape certain death. Now situated on a cliff farther from the golem, as night blankets the sky and the moonlight becomes their only source of light, Dorothy and her companions regroup and assess the situation.

"We need to stop that thing before it destroys the town or any town for that matter," Dorothy spoke as she began to brainstorm with her companions. "Thankfully, the golem seems to have stopped moving for now," Dorothy added as she looked at the golem standing still.

"Dorothy, do you have any idea how to defeat that thing?" Julia asked, curious about her knowledge as she had been an adventurer longer than any of them.

"I wasn't part of the war in the Kingdom of Luminaris, and the war never reached this Kingdom. Queen Elbereth forbade our involvement in that war," Dorothy revealed as her companions listened intently. "I only heard rumors at that time. Apparently, the Hero killed that demon in single combat," Dorothy added.

"That's what I heard as well," Ruda confirmed Dorothy's claims.

"Then we're out of luck," Julia expressed, and they all bowed their heads, knowing that the hero had been gone for years now.

"I bet the adventurer's guild is doing something as we speak. There's no way they couldn't see that monstrosity from there," Ruda spoke, sharing her thoughts on the matter.

"Agreed. We just need to hold out and keep it here long enough until reinforcements arrive," Dorothy spoke as she looked at her comrades, waiting for their response. They looked at each other and nodded, agreeing to the plan for now.

"Then it's settled. Julia, you will stay at a safe distance and cast 'Slow' on the golem every few minutes to keep it from moving too much. Ruda and Iris will keep it busy and try to inflict as much damage as possible," Dorothy revealed her plan and slowly stood up, taking her mask off now that they were out of the town.

"But what are you going to do, Dorothy?" Iris asked, curious. Dorothy looked at Iris and the others. "There's something bothering me about that old elf who appeared. She carried some sort of red orb," Dorothy said, pointing at the top of the golem where a faint red light shone on the horizon. "I'm going to borrow your contraption, Ruda, and reach the top. I'll confront the old elf there," Dorothy said, holding out her open palm, asking Ruda for her contraption. Ruda handed her the grappling hook launcher.

"Are you sure? You'll be going alone, you know," Ruda reminded Dorothy, concerned.

"I'll be fine. Besides, I need you two to keep the golem busy," Dorothy assured them. Dorothy and her companions got ready, checking their tools and equipment. Before they finished, Dorothy spoke to Julia once again. "Julia, can you also keep an eye out for any reinforcements? Inform them of what happened here." Julia nodded in response as Dorothy and the others headed off towards the golem once again.

"Don't die," Julia whispered as she watched them leave to face the colossal golem.

Julia sighed and steeled herself, determined to carry out the plan Dorothy instructed. She looked at the golem on the horizon and cast "Slow" on it.

At the top of the golem, the old elf woman gazed at the horizon. She saw the vast elven kingdoms, from the busy ports of King's Harbor to the city at the base of the Goddess' Tree in the Luminaris Kingdom. But as she looked behind her, the castle of her Queen Elbereth stood in magnificent splendor not too far away. Tears began to flow from her cheeks as she felt a sense of home. "My Queen, I'm coming home, back to your side," she uttered to herself.

Suddenly, shivers ran down her spine. "Carwen, my faithful servant, you have done well," a woman's voice was heard behind the old elf woman. She turned and saw the dark goddess, her crimson hair and black dress flowing in the wind. Her malicious gaze was directed at her. Immediately, the old elf woman, Carwen, prostrated herself on the ground, refraining from speaking and avoiding the dark goddess's eyes.

"I see your beloved home, just a stone's throw away," the dark goddess, Asmodea, squatted down, resting her head on one hand while stroking Carwen's hair on the other. "Do you want to go home?" Asmodea asked. "I do as my goddess commands!" Carwen responded, her head still bowed down.

Asmodea put her red lips near Carwen's elf ears and uttered, "Your goddess just asked you a question," in a sinister tone. In an instant, she clutched Carwen's hair and lifted up her head. Carwen, in agony from having her hair pulled, tried to endure the pain and avoid the gaze of the dark goddess. "I-I want to go home!" Carwen finally answered.

Then, Carwen snapped back into reality and realized she had been under Asmodea's illusion. Feeling terror and pain from the illusion, tears flowed from her wounded face. Asmodea smiled contently and continued, "I too want you to go home. As a matter of fact, I 'command' you to go home." Asmodea looked down at the prostrating Carwen as she gave her command. Carwen, who could only do as the dark goddess commanded, answered, "Thank you, my goddess. Your will shall be done!"

Asmodea snickered as she continued, "But you won't leave poor Balsathor behind, will you? You have to bring him along with you to the castle, or else he'll be sad." Asmodea made a sad face and a crying motion playfully for dramatic effect. Carwen, confused by Asmodea's command but afraid to question her, answered, "Yes, my goddess!"

Asmodea gave a sinister grin as she added one final command. "I want him to feel at home, so ask him to sit down when he enters the castle," Asmodea's tone full of maliciousness. Carwen, realizing what Asmodea was asking, trembled in terror as her eyes sank. Without any other choice, Carwen replied with the only answer she could give, "Yes, my goddess. Your will shall be done." Carwen cried as she remained prostrated. Asmodea, contented, responded, "That's my girl."

In the Royal Castle of Sylvenspire, the elf queen Elbereth watched from a window in her royal chambers, holding a red book in her hand. She gasped in awe at the magnificent golem standing before her. "Carwen, you have done well. Now, use the golem to trample our enemies! Start with that despicable Luminaris Kingdom!" Queen Elbereth uttered to herself, expecting Carwen to carry out their planned attack.

To Queen Elbereth's confusion, the golem slowly turned in their direction. "What... what is the meaning of this?" Queen Elbereth uttered to herself, feeling goosebumps rise on her skin. To her horror, the golem began to move towards them with a thunderous booming step, causing the windows of the castle to shake. Queen Elbereth's eyes remained fixed on the golem as her mind filled with perplexity.

After a few minutes, another thunderous step was taken, causing cracks to form on the castle walls. Queen Elbereth, snapping back into reality, realized that something had gone terribly wrong with her plans. In a panic, she shouted for her attendants, but one of them entered her chambers before she could finish. "My Queen, a colossal golem is heading towards our direction!" the attendant immediately reported.

The Queen, still shaken up, pondered on what to do. But suddenly, another thunderous step echoed through the castle, sending shockwaves that shattered the window glass and caused the cracks to spread further inside the royal chambers. Finally gathering her thoughts, the Queen commanded her attendants, "In my name as Queen of Sylvenspire! Call everyone to arms, post mages and archers at the highest points of the castle, and summon my private circle of mages to the throne room to prepare the 'Grand Castle Barrier' spell!"

Without any delay, the attendant rushed to convey the Queen's command. Queen Elbereth bit her finger to focus, her mind filled with worry. "What have you done, Carwen!" she uttered to herself.

Meanwhile, at the body of the golem, specifically on the right knee, Ruda and Iris were hacking away at the golem's parts desperately while the golem moved. "You'd think I'd become a great miner?" Ruda exclaimed as she shattered parts of the golem's knee with her mechanical hammer. "Miners use pickaxes," Iris responded, also hacking away at the golem's knee with her spear.

"I mean, seriously, I thought the golem would pay us any attention like before but-". Before Ruda could finish her sentence, Iris shouted, "Look out!" Iris grabbed Ruda and pulled her out of the way as she jumped upward quickly to the golem's waist. Ruda saw the golem's hand slapping its knee, hoping to crush them. "What was that!? I thought it wouldn't mind us!" Ruda, who felt terrified, proclaimed as the golem's hand moved away from the knee and continued to walk. "We're heading towards the Sylvenspire castle!" Iris remarked as the golem got nearer to the castle. "I hope Dori is okay," Ruda expressed her concern as she looked above the golem, pondering on leaving Dorothy to face the weird old elf lady.

On the golem's left shoulder, Carwen cried as she continued to command the golem to move forward while also casting "Haste" on it. Asmodea, who observed from the side, smiled at the scene. Suddenly, her eyes drifted to a corner when a grappling hook planted onto their location. Dorothy flew upward and landed on her feet beautifully, in front of Asmodea and Carwen. Asmodea snickered as she looked at Dorothy while Carwen ignored Dorothy and continued casting and commanding the golem. Without saying anything, Dorothy shot a bolt towards Carwen, but a barrier blocked her attack. "Tsk," Dorothy clicked her tongue. "It's no use, my dear," Asmodea remarked, gazing at Dorothy.

Dorothy looked at the dark goddess and suddenly felt an ominous presence. Her limbs started to fall from her body. Shocked, Dorothy couldn’t feel her legs when suddenly she fell to the ground. With her head lying on the side, she saw in horror her body parts scattered on the ground with a pool of blood.

Asmodea, with her usual smirk, walked towards Dorothy when suddenly she saw a glint on the horizon, quickly heading towards them. Like a surge of wind, it passed straight through the colossal golem. Asmodea looked to the opposite side where it exited when, in an instant, the golem they were standing on became unstable and tilted, causing Asmodea and Carwen to lose their balance.

 

Dorothy snapped back to reality when she felt the golem shake and tilt. Checking herself, she found she was fine. She gazed at Asmodea and Carwen, who were also off balance. In a sudden shift in the weight of the golem, they all descended a bit lower than before. A huge boom and shockwave reverberated through the whole area. When the golem finally stopped shaking, Asmodea looked down below and saw that the golem had knelt on one of its legs, thus tilting the ground they were standing on. The Castle of Sylvenspire was only a few paces away.

 

"So, you're the enemy," a young boy's voice full of confidence was heard behind Asmodea. As she turned, she saw a young boy about Aria's age physically. The young boy had short, spiky, raven-colored hair and was wearing white light armor clothing with a red cape. In each of his hands, he held a sword. But he was not alone; he was immediately followed by four of his comrades - a male beastman mage, a female elf archer, an old male dwarf warrior, and a female drow cleric.

 

Carwen backed away in terror at the sight of these adventurers. Dorothy was relieved that reinforcements had arrived, but she was even more relieved to see the boy with a platinum-ranked necklace and his gold-ranked comrades. However, Asmodea merely gave a welcoming smile at the adventurers as she snapped her fingers.