A soft breeze swept across the open grasslands. The sun dipped behind drifting clouds, casting long shadows between two figures who stood apart, each watching the other carefully.
Canis Majoris stood with ease, his sword resting casually on his shoulder. A faint smile curved his lips—not out of arrogance, but from an unsettling calm, the kind only possessed by those who had walked through countless battles. Opposite him, Lagos stood firm, his expression stern, eyes locked onto his opponent.
"If we're just going to keep playing with swords like this," Canis said with a mocking tone, "I should head back to the city. There's still a Cerberus to deal with over there."
Lagos didn't respond immediately. He studied Canis with quiet intensity before asking, "Aren't you enjoying this?"
Canis chuckled softly. "I expected more from the strongest Bloodminer. If this is all…"
Lagos smiled coldly. "Then allow me to entertain you."
Without warning, Lagos dropped to one knee and pressed both palms against the earth. The tranquil field began to tremble. Blades of grass swayed under the wind before the ground itself began to shift.
Canis narrowed his eyes. "What now…?"
The tremors grew stronger. The soil beneath their feet started to melt—not into water, but into molten metal. Iron, glistening and flowing like waves in a silver ocean.
Lagos rose again, lifting his arms. The liquid metal surged skyward in a towering geyser, then began to solidify, taking shape with terrifying speed.
"Iron Golem," Lagos declared.
Before Canis stood a massive Golem, forged from the earth itself, half the size of the Cerberus that ravaged the city. Its eyes glowed red. Its body loomed like a steel mountain.
Canis let out a dry laugh. "If your trick is just to build oversized toys, I've seen worse."
But Lagos wasn't done. He raised his hands again, and the metallic ocean beneath them erupted once more.
"Not just one," he said. "An army."
Four more Iron Golems emerged, identical in size and form to the first. They lined up, shoulder to shoulder—five towering giants of war, ready to crush anything in their path.
Lagos leapt upward and disappeared into the head of the central Golem. His voice echoed from within, deep and resonant through the Golem's metal frame.
"Then let's resume the game."
Canis twirled his blade and raised it, pointing it directly at Lagos. His eyes gleamed—not with fear, but with thrill.
That technique... It must cost an enormous amount of energy, he thought. So it's true—he really is the strongest Bloodminer.
And yet, his smile only grew wider. His grip on the sword tightened.
"Alright then," he said, voice trembling slightly—not from fear, but from anticipation.
"Let me show you. why they call me… the Black Death."
{Chapter 32}