[Wenstorn]
The ground rumbled beneath Gavin's feet long before the sound reached his ears.
A distant flash splintered the forest sky in a dull red pulse. Gavin lifted his head slightly, eyes narrowing as another laser blast cracked through the horizon.
"Seems like someone is already having fun." he muttered.
Standing a few paces away and perched lazily on a mound of broken stone, Kairo scoffed. "Fun?" he repeated with annoyance curling over his face. "He's destroying nature, how is that fun?"
Gavin didn't even bother looking at him. "Please. It's not like you're not gonna destroy it too. And you'll probably do worse than him."
Kairo swung his legs off the rock and stood upright. "I never agreed to your plan."
Gavin stopped his creation, letting the rock settle before he straightened up. He exhaled dramatically and finally turned to face him. "Come on, man. You can't back down on the plan now."
"I think I can." Kairo said. He gestured vaguely toward his own body. "Especially when your genius plan comes with the lovely side effect of me dying along."
He started walking away without waiting for a reply.
"Kairo, where are you going?!" Gavin called out, his voice laced with confusion and a hint of desperation.
Kairo paused but didn't look back. "You said I can't back out of the plan, didn't you? So, I'm going to my post."
""That's not what I... Kairo, wait... NOT NOW!" Gavin shouted.
But Kairo had already stepped behind a wall of jutting boulders, disappearing without a sound.
Gavin stared at the empty space. He then turned back to the five Golems he had created, whispering to himself in frustration. "…I still haven't completed my part here."
He let out a frustrated sigh. "Ah, fuck…" Gavin muttered. "If I gotta do it without protection, then I might as well go all out."
Gavin cracked his knuckles one by one and he kneeled down, pressed a palm to the ground.
And one of the sigils on his Arc Seal shattered.
"Arc Seal…" Gavin's voice dropped. "Stone Legion."
The ground began to tremor violently. Cracks webbed out from his palm, tearing through the moss and earth.
Chunks of earth tore free. Mountainsides cracked open and shapes began forming, massive silhouettes climbing out of the earth, he birthed an army of giant golems. And each was a replica of the Wenstorn Golem.
The forest groaned, birds scattering from treetops. Forty-five golems were created instantly. And when he was done, all fifty stood at attention.
Gavin wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. "That should do it." he rasped slightly. "Now what I gotta do…" Gavin stretched his neck until it cracked. "…is find the enemy Golem."
He turned away from the carnage echoing across the forest, heading in the opposite direction, toward the deeper and quiet part of the terrain.
"I'll let Douglas clean up his own mess." Gavin murmured. "And take the long road."
Another explosion thundered behind him, pulsing red across the sky and so bright red it lit the treetops like a sunrise.
Gavin barely glanced back and he smirked.
"Guess he's really having fun now."