Chương 60: Episode 5: Fierce Foes

Rain attacked. Sheets of water crashed from the heavens like a ruptured sky, hammering the jungle hard enough to turn dirt into sludge within seconds. Thunder detonated, rolling through the heavens like celestial war drums announcing the end of the world. Lightning tore the canopy open in blinding white flashes, turning trees into skeletal shadows for half a heartbeat before darkness swallowed them again.

In the middle of the chaos, I lay curled in my Rockslide Ankylosaurus form beside the lake, my armored body buried deep in the mud while the rain pounded across my stone-plated back like machine-gun fire. On top of me, Eddy was snoring peacefully—as if this were a luxury vacation instead of a survival scenario. Drool slid down my armor. I stared into the darkness with pure disappointment. KRAK-BOOOOM! Another strike split the sky, and my eyes snapped open.

The jungle was pitch-black except for the brief flashes of lightning clawing through the overhead canopy. Every time the forest lit up, the shadows shifted. My instincts hated it. Every muscle in my body stayed tense, tail heavy in the mud, ears twitching at every rustle hidden beneath the storm. If one tiny dinosaur chirped next to me right now, I was sending it into orbit with my tail club. Tomorrow wasn't some random side quest. This was world-ending, Dironyx-level territory.

If he found the hidden gem before we did, Zeriath would be erased, and everyone would be cooked. Eddy claimed Dironyx had been searching for years without finding the tree which helped a little. But we weren't chasing it just to save Zeriath. There was something personal. Earlier, Eddy had looked dead serious for once and told me, "If we find it… a miracle happens. For both of us." Still, a miracle is a miracle, and I was willing to fight for it, especially if it meant proving something. Ironz.

The Metal Element user from the Illegals. My shadow. He was a Metallic Ankylodocus built like a tank with emotional issues and a gym membership. Silver armor, spikes everywhere, absolute nightmare fuel. One day we were going to clash, and when we did, I'd prove something simple: the original always wins. I shut my eyes. Just five more minutes— FWSSSHK-KRAAAK!!! A tree exploded deep in the jungle. My eyes shot open. Silence followed, except for the storm trying to murder the planet. I scanned the darkness.

Maybe some giant herbivore slipped. I lowered my head again—KRRRRAAAAAASH!!! Another tree fell, much closer. I shot upright, launching Eddy off my back. He face-planted straight into the mud. SPLOOSH. He rolled over, drenched from head to toe, blinking at me with exhausted betrayal.

"Bro…" he groaned.

"It is the middle of the night. What now?"

"I heard something," I muttered, still scanning the trees.

"Two trees went down."

"You launched me into swamp water because a tree fell?"

"IT HAPPENED TWICE." KABOOOOM! Thunder shook the lake, rippling the water. Eddy rubbed his face.

"Olsen, there is not a single dinosaur out here big enough to—" CRRRRRAAAAAACK!!! A massive tree snapped in half and crashed into the mud with a powerful thud. Lightning flashed, illuminating a wide silhouette standing on top of the fallen trunk. The jungle went dead silent. The distant cries of panicking dinosaurs echoed through the storm before abruptly cutting off. I shifted back into my humanoid form, my stone armor dissolving into steam as mist rolled off my skin.

My boots sank into the mud while my hand reached for the heavy, scarred Earth Axe at my side. The silhouette moved closer. Broad shoulders. Armor plating. And in one hand, a massive, spiked mace designed specifically to erase health bars.

"Did you see that?" I whispered.

"YES, I SAW THAT," Eddy hissed, scrambling behind me like his soul was trying to evacuate his body. I stepped forward, my grip tightening around the axe. CRACK-KRRRSHHH. The massive figure emerged from the rain with heavy, pressurized steps. He lifted the fallen tree off the ground with zero effort, his silver eyes locking onto us. WHOOSH! He chucked the trunk straight at us. SHRRRRAAAK!!! My axe sliced through the wood mid-flight, splitting the trunk clean in half as splinters exploded through the air.

Both pieces crashed into the mud on either side of us. The storm mist parted, and the figure trudged out. Silver armor gleamed beneath the lightning. Spikes lined his shoulders and forearms, and his enormous iron mace dragged through the mud with a sharp, metallic scrape that cut through the sound of the storm. Steel-gray eyes locked onto mine.

"…Ironz," I muttered. His voice came out low and mechanical.

"Me, Ironz." Thunder boomed behind him, highlighting his towering metallic frame.

"Ironz do not accept intruders in the Lost World of Zeriath. Ironz eliminate any… who cross its edge." Eddy stepped out from behind me, shaking with rage.

"IT WAS YOU!" he shouted.

"YOU NEVER LET MY FAMILY GO! YOU'RE THE REASON MY BROTHER DIED!" Ironz's jaw tightened slightly.

"…You escaped." Rain streamed down his armor as his grip tightened on his mace.

"Ironz punish you to the highest bitter!" I stepped in front of Eddy.

"Don't throw hands first. That's a me thing." Metallic energy erupted from Ironz's arms like a cyclone of steel dust, spiraling around his body and warping the rain. The ground beneath his boots trembled.

"Foolish Olsen… Ironz took orders." His eyes ignited bright gray.

"Leave, now." I inhaled deeply. What would an Earthnite Warrior do? He'd probably run straight into battle, and I could already see a couple of spots where I could strike. But would an Earthnite really just rush in blindly? It didn't matter. I was doing this my way, just this once. Emerald energy burst from my core, wrapping around my arms, my axe, and my entire body. The green light pushed against Ironz's gray aura, turning the falling rain into hissing steam. Gray versus green. Metal versus earth.

Tank versus tank. I rolled my shoulders and cracked my neck.

"Eddy."

"Yeah?"

"Go hide."

"…Say less." He vanished into the undergrowth. The storm roared louder. Ironz lifted his mace, I raised my axe, and as lightning split the heavens apart, we charged.

"RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" I tore across the mud, boots detonating puddles with every step. The Earth Axe blurred in my hands, green energy crawling along the blade as if starving for impact. At the last second, he shifted his shoulder and caught the axe with the head of his mace. CLANG. Metal slammed against metal with a brutal, dead-stop impact that rattled straight through my arms. Ironz tilted his silver eye toward me and smiled. WHAM. His fist rocketed upward beneath my ribs.

The air blasted from my lungs as my body folded around the hit. Before gravity could pull me back down, his mace whipped sideways. CRACK. Pain exploded through my flank. I skipped across the jungle floor, my heels carving trenches through the soaked earth as walls of mud sprayed behind me. I dug the axe down hard. SKRRRRRRK! The blade scraped through stone until I finally stopped, emerald energy bleeding from my body in jagged wisps while rain streamed down my face. Ironz twirled his mace once.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Thunder erupted overhead, and then he jumped, bringing the mace down like a meteor. I snapped my axe upward. KRAANG! Sparks erupted between us. I twisted beneath the impact, rolled my shoulder, and ripped the axe sideways toward his neck. He deflected it, flipping backward twice before landing behind a massive tree. Metallic energy vibrated across his armor. The jungle shook with thunder as Ironz stomped. BOOOOM!

Twisted iron spikes erupted from the mud in spiraling formations, corkscrewing toward me through the storm with a shrill metallic scream. I ran directly at them, the jungle blurring around me. One spike ripped past my shoulder. I swerved. Another burst upward beneath my feet, and I flipped over it, landing on top of the moving metal spire before sprinting across it.

"RAHHH!" I launched into the air, axe raised high, as emerald energy exploded behind me like a tidal wave. BAKH-BOOOOM!!! The Earth Axe crashed into Ironz's chestplate, fracturing the ground beneath him. A burst of green earth energy detonated outward, sending him skidding backward through mud, roots, and shattered stone. I landed hard. Ironz was already on his feet. No hesitation. I charged again. BAM. An uppercut cracked beneath his chin, snapping his head back. I switched hands mid-motion. WHACK.

My fist slammed into the side of his face, sending sparks through the rain. Lightning split the clouds as I stomped the ground with both feet. KABOOOM! The jungle floor erupted beneath Ironz, launching him skyward. I thrust both hands downward, emerald energy spiraling around my forearms like living serpents.

"CURVATURE TRAP!" The jungle exploded. Jagged tendrils of stone and root burst upward through the mud, twisting through the air and wrapping around Ironz's limbs. His arms locked, his legs were pinned, and one massive coil wrapped around his neck, suspending him in the storm. Lightning flashed white across the canopy.

"Ironz wonder…" he growled, rain hammering his armor.

"Since when Olsen become stronger?"

"I was never weak," I shot back, stepping through the mud, energy rippling across my arms at the slightest twitch of my fingers.

"Now answer me. Why are you here? The Lost World of Zeriath isn't your playground." A low laugh escaped his helmet.

"Ironz in Lost World because leader command Ironz. Leader find Ironz first." Is he talking about Vironos? The tendrils around him trembled. Metallic veins spread across the stone restraints, infecting them like a disease. The jungle groaned.

"GRAAAH!" SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! The tendrils shattered, collapsing into the mud like broken fangs. Ironz dropped heavily to the ground. BOOOOM! Mud erupted from beneath his boots, and the trees shook violently. He rose from the crater slowly as lightning illuminated his battered, scratched, and dented silver plating. Then, his silver eye shifted past me, toward the bushes.

"Ironz…" His voice lowered, turning colder.

"Will kill Olsen. Then end Eddy forever." Behind me, I heard Eddy squeak.

"Come try," I said, tightening my grip on the axe as rain poured down my face. The ground convulsed, and Ironz exploded forward, his mace dragging against stone and spraying sparks with every step.

"RAAAHHH!" I slipped left at the final second. Mud sprayed beneath my boots as I pivoted hard and whipped the axe around. CLANG. The blade hammered into his back, the impact ringing through the jungle like a cathedral bell. Ironz barely reacted. He snarled and slammed his palm into the ground. Suddenly, the earth beneath us transformed into solid iron. My breath caught as Ironz thrust both hands upward. KRAAA-BOOOOM!!! A colossal slab of metal erupted beneath me, launching me high into the sky.

I blasted above the treeline, rain and thunder tearing around me while lightning illuminated my silhouette against the clouds. BOOOOM! Ironz leaped after me, appearing directly in front of me midair as if gravity didn't apply to him. He pulled his mace back, his silver eye glowing.

"IRONZ END THIS." WHAAAAM!!! The mace detonated against my cheek. The world spun violently. I spiraled downward through the storm, smashing through branches and exploding trunks until the ground hit me like a truck. I bounced, rolled, and tore a trench through the stone before clipping a boulder. THOOM. I flipped over it and slammed into the mud, cratering the earth beneath me. Everything stopped. My vision flickered open. KRA-BOOOOM!!!

A spinning metallic drill exploded through the giant boulder beside me, shredding it into fragments. Ironz stepped through the dust, lazily twisting his mace in one hand.

"Stand up," he growled.

"Or Ironz beat corpse." I rose slowly. Emerald energy snapped violently across my arms, wrapping around the Earth Axe. I dropped it. Ironz tilted his head. I charged barehanded. A massive fallen tree rested nearby, thick enough to be a pillar. I grabbed it with both hands, veins bulging through my arms as I ripped it free from the mud and hurled it. BRASHHHK!!! The trunk exploded against Ironz's chest. He didn't budge. Wood splinters rained around him as he spread his arms wide.

"SEE?!" he roared.

"IRONZ THINK THAT PATHETIC! AND OLSEN CALL SELF WARRIOR?" Dark green and earthen energy erupted from my fists. Flames spiraled upward around my arms and shoulders, and emerald light burned in my eyes. The ground beneath my feet cracked outward as the planet itself braced for impact. I stepped forward, each footstep splitting the earth. I cracked my neck. Ironz grinned.

"Better." I vanished. BOOOOOOM!!! The burst of speed behind me erased three trees before they could even fall. Midair, I reeled both fists back, compressing every ounce of my strength into one strike. I screamed louder than the storm, my glowing eyes locking onto him. His expression changed. Realization hit him. WHAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMM!!!!! The punch landed. The air compressed into a single point before detonating outward in a colossal dome of glowing green energy. The jungle folded beneath the impact.

Trees bent, snapped, and were uprooted, while layers of soil peeled away from the pressure. Even the storm seemed to recoil. Ironz shot backward like a missile. His armored body tore through the sky, flashing between streaks of lightning as he rocketed higher and higher beyond the treetops—and then beyond the clouds themselves. His furious scream echoed through the heavens long after he disappeared. Silence returned, save for the softening rain and a collapsing branch nearby.

I looked around slowly at the fractured battlefield.

"Psst! Kid!" I spun immediately, energy igniting around my fists as I dropped into a low stance, ready to flatten whoever was sneaking up on me. A nearby bush rustled, and a massive, glowing red figure stepped out. He had towering muscles, veins like molten cables, eyes burning crimson like forge-fire, and a grin that practically screamed menace. I recognized that smile instantly. Strength.

Each step across the shattered bridge sent streams of dust pouring into the abyss. Cracks spiderwebbed beneath my shoes—krk, krk, krack—echoing through the dark like a warning to turn back. Not happening. Below me lay a bottomless void that swallowed all light and sound, except for one thing: Skull Dragger's fading scream. I blinked into the darkness. How long had he been falling? Five minutes? Ten? He sounded like he'd been tossed into the universe's longest elevator shaft.

"At this point," I muttered, hopping over a fractured gap, "you'd think he'd hit something by now." The second my feet landed, the section behind me collapsed completely, stones peeling away into the dark in a roaring avalanche of rubble. I glanced back once, then turned forward.

"Well," I sighed, pulling my hoodie tighter as violet sparks danced across my fingers, "guess there's no turning back." An ancient archway towered at the end of the bridge, its stone frame carved with thousands of glowing symbols pulsing beneath layers of dust. As I approached, the carvings became clearer: a tree, a glowing gem embedded in its center, and a Zenith-like figure chasing it. Other murals showed the tree shifting through different worlds, as if reality itself were trying to hide it.

The final mural depicted the same Zenith standing above a dark, cybernetic Earth. Metallic cities stretched across continents beneath skies packed with machinery and crimson light. Above it all, the Zenith wore a crown, his carved smile twisted into full-on insanity. A chill crept up my spine.

"So whoever built this place," I whispered, "wants that gem badly." King Dreadixz had nearly beaten me to extinction once, but this felt worse because this was a Zenith. Before incarceration, I didn't think evil Zeniths existed. They were supposed to protect balance, not dominate universes like cosmic tyrants. Incarceration had shattered that illusion pretty fast. This was definitely another corrupted Zenith. Reaching the gigantic door, I tilted my head back.

It was ancient, coated in layers of dust that scattered like ash the moment my fingers brushed the stone. Then I noticed a tiny handle on the titan-sized door. Suspicious, but there was only one way to find out. I grabbed it and pushed. The colossal doors swung open with ease, unleashing a wave of blinding white light. The bridge vanished beneath a pure, luminous glow that flooded the abyss like a newborn sun.

Shielding my eyes, I stepped forward, my footsteps echoing endlessly through the hollow brilliance as celestial energy flickered around my arms. The deeper I walked, the brighter it got. BOOM. The doors slammed shut behind me. I whipped around and froze. I was standing in a plain, empty white space.

"…Nah," I muttered. I kept walking, but my footsteps only echoed back at me. When I turned around, the door was gone.

"Wasn't it right there?!" I shouted. The void echoed my words back endlessly. I slapped my forehead.

"…I hate this place." Genuinely tweaking, I wandered aimlessly. How do you escape an infinite white void? It's not like there was a floating "exit" sign.

"This is getting annoying," I groaned.

"I wish there was an exit." As I kept walking, the white began to melt away. The brightness dimmed, shapes formed, and color returned. When I opened my eyes, the void was gone. I stood inside a massive, elegant violet chamber. The polished stone floor reflected soft light from ornate chandeliers suspended impossibly high, and the walls stretched out like a palace built for gods. Towering portraits of celestial beings lined the walls, each carrying a golden nameplate: Snowai Drikai, Warpix, Lumai Nuai.

Three massive portraits dominated the center of the chamber. In the middle was Kai Xii, a divine figure made of Celestial energy, crowned in shimmering violet light like a living galaxy. To his right stood Xion Krion, forged from Lunar energy and casting an eerie, calm darkness. To his left was Dryad Kryad, a Neon entity blazing with radiant color. Beneath them hung four more portraits: Terra Krai, Thunderai Voltai, Levi Krakai, and Infernai Solarai. I stared at them in silence.

"… What is this place?" In the center of the room sat a massive violet chest edged in polished silver. Two weapon handles protruded from the top, and beside it lay a faded piece of paper, nearly torn apart by time. I picked it up carefully and read the faded writing:"Dear first Chosen One… everything in this room is true. You have not known these gods, except for Kai Xii, the creator of the multiverse. He created your specific Element and chose you as the first Chosen One because of your heart and courage.

This dungeon was built by me, Dr. Vandalez Switchzen, as a monument for my deceased daughter, who was slaughtered when Dironyx and the Xeniths arrived. This place is not owned by Dironyx—it is mine. The legends on these walls helped Kai Xii shape and protect the multiverse. Along with Terra Krai, Thunderai Voltai, Levi Krakai, and Infernai Solarai, the Five Forces of Nature, they forged the Lost Key to save the universe from a deadly threat coming for the Primary Universe.

Under Kai Xii's instructions, I created these daggers for you. The Cosmic Ravagers are no ordinary weapons. Forged from Giornium steel, the rarest metal in this universe, and infused with celestial energy, they require absolute focus. Only the first Chosen One can wield them. But be warned—if used in vain, or in a way that disrupts the balance between justice and fury, you will lose the right to wield them until you set things right." I set the paper down and gripped the handles.

"Okay," I muttered.

"Let's see what makes these things special." I pulled. Celestial light erupted from the chest as violet flames spiraled around my arms. The Ravagers tore free from the metal, illuminating the chamber in a radiant cosmic glow. The blades were beautiful—long, jagged, and razor-sharp, with streams of celestial energy flowing through the grooves carved along the edges. I spun them in my hands, the metal humming as if the weapons were alive.

"Sick," I whispered. Yet, Skull Dragger's words lingered in my mind. Monster. The thought gnawed at me. If I was really some hidden monster, why did these weapons choose me? Why would Kai Xii trust me with this?

"Don!" I froze, my wings folding against my back. I knew that voice. I turned around slowly. Standing near the entrance was Starla, smiling. Beside her stood Kai, the fluffy little Hric. She tilted her head, her purple eyes catching the light.

"Long time no see?"