"Did you hear that, Golden? We need to act immediately," said Krasper, through the mental link they had all agreed to establish with Golden, though they knew it couldn't be done without each other's explicit permission.
Golden nodded quickly, his golden gaze shining with determination.
"Alright, then it's time to act." Without a second thought, he broke through the earthen wall with a powerful roar and charged toward the soldiers, launching himself into battle like a golden streak.
"Goodbye, element of surprise," Meliradal muttered sarcastically as she emerged alongside Kilibur and Silver, ready to face whatever was necessary.
Ribras, upon seeing Golden approach, smirked with mocking disbelief.
"Well, well, it's you, damn golden warrior. But what happened to you? Did you shrink?" He crossed his arms, feigning disinterest, though his eyes betrayed caution.
Then he let out a snide chuckle as he continued taunting.
"You're probably the one who freed the Hassladian prisoners, and now you've come for your creator god. I bet you made Meloc's assistant sing, huh? These days, good help is hard to find."
Without giving them time to respond, Ribras pressed a button on his wrist, and suddenly, fifty Vichus emerged from the ground, ready to attack. With a mischievous smile, Ribras activated a tube in the wall and began to escape.
"I hope you'll forgive me, but I have things to do," he said as he disappeared into the conduit.
Krasper appeared just after Ribras escaped, growling in frustration.
"Damn it! Why didn't I catch him?"
Golden, his fists still vibrating with energy, muttered under his breath.
"That damn rat got away."
"We've got company, Golden!" Krasper warned, pointing at the Vichus already surrounding them.
Silver stepped forward, his body brimming with combat-ready energy.
"Leave this to me."
Golden stopped him with a sharp gesture.
"No, dog. You'd better go and break that door. If you don't, we'll lose our chance to save Avocios."
Kilibur, ever strategic, used his real illusion powers to create an army of foxes that fought fiercely against the Vichus. The illusory foxes shimmered with an ethereal glow as they charged into battle, confusing and decimating the enemies.
Meanwhile, Meliradal summoned a bow made of pure energy that emerged from one of her gloves. With lethal precision, she began firing explosive energy arrows.
"Get out of my way, damn monsters!" she shouted as one of her arrows detonated, wiping out several Vichus in one blast.
Golden, using his supernatural speed, spun like a golden whirlwind, his fists striking with devastating force against any enemy that dared approach.
"Out of my way!" he roared, knocking down an entire group of Vichus with a single motion.
Krasper, with spinning swords in hand, sliced through the air with fluid and precise movements, cutting down the Vichus as if they were dry leaves.
"Hah! This is a piece of cake," he commented with an arrogant smile as he finished off a few more enemies.
Silver, ignoring Golden's jokes, approached the enormous red door. He concentrated all his power into one of his fists, which began to radiate an intense golden aura, as if a comet were about to crash onto the surface.
"I'm coming, you mangy cat," Silver retorted, annoyed but determined. With a deafening roar, he unleashed a powerful punch against the door—but it didn't even budge.
Inside, Ribras observed from a screen as his subordinates nervously tried to load Avocios into a massive war tank. The soldiers worked frantically, terrified of making any mistakes.
"Stay calm, hurry up. No one will be able to break that door; it's extremely resistant," Ribras assured with a confident smile. Then he ordered, "Put Avocios into the vehicle! But don't touch any cables, or the being inside might escape."
The soldiers obeyed with the utmost care, even afraid to breathe too hard as they handled the tank.
Krasper, on the other hand, tried to see if he could enter through where Ribras had escaped, but it was useless—the entrance was sealed.
Silver, with a mix of arrogance and determination, smiled as he concentrated all his energy on his fist.
"You'll see I'm the strongest," he said, launching a power-charged punch at the red door. His fist burned with its own energy, as if the very sun had been trapped in his hand.
Inside the tank, Ribras watched nervously while issuing rushed orders.
"Hurry up!" he shouted at his subordinates, ensuring everything was ready to transport Avocios.
The door finally exploded from Silver's powerful blow, shattering into thousands of fragments that shot out like shrapnel. Ribras, upon seeing the scene from an internal screen, visibly paled.
"Start the vehicle, quickly!" he ordered one of the soldiers at the controls.
The other guardians, after defeating the Vichus, quickly regrouped with Silver. The tank began to move, lifting off the ground with a deafening roar as it ascended toward the sky.
"Goodbye, fools," Ribras said with a triumphant smile as the vehicle shot upward, leaving a trail of energy in its wake.
Golden, without a second thought, decided to follow the vehicle through the same opening it had disappeared into.
"Damn it! We need to go after them!" Golden exclaimed, running at full speed behind the tank.
Krasper rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he watched him go.
"Typical of that cat to always run off."
Silver, serious and determined, responded quickly:
"We must chase the tank, or it'll be the end, and we won't be able to save our creator."
Meliradal, ever practical, used her wind magic to create a floating cloud that lifted everyone into the sky.
"Quickly, Meliradal created the cloud and made us fly out the same way."
Upon emerging, they saw Golden chasing the tank at an impressive speed, dodging the attacks the vehicle launched at him.
One of the soldiers inside the tank alerted Ribras:
"Sir, one of them is following us… the golden one."
Ribras frowned, annoyed but resolute.
"Damn it, that guy… I'd better kill him. My boss will reward me handsomely for it."
Swiftly, Ribras issued another order to his henchmen:
"Quick! Connect Avocios's cables to the vehicle. We'll use his power against his allies."
The henchmen obeyed, connecting the cables of Avocios's prison to the tank's system. From one part of the vehicle emerged a machine gun-like cannon that began firing energy shots left and right at Golden.
Golden, using his incredible speed, dodged each attack with precision, moving like a golden lightning bolt in the air.
"Damn you, little golden pest," Ribras muttered under his breath, watching as Golden kept closing in.
One of the soldiers reported again, his voice trembling:
"Sir, he's going to catch up to us!"
Ribras, remaining calm, pressed some buttons on the console, activating two additional machine guns that emerged from the sides of the tank. These began launching even more destructive attacks at Golden. Each missed shot impacted the terrain, creating devastating explosions that sent dirt and rocks flying.
From the floating cloud, Krasper and Kilibur watched the scene in astonishment.
"What the hell is that?" Krasper asked, incredulous, as he pointed at the armed tank.
Kilibur, equally surprised, responded:
"We'd better help the kitty."
Without wasting time, Krasper handed the weapons to Silver. The latter, with a fierce expression, began hurling spears at the enemy's weapons. The spears struck with such force that they destroyed the two machine guns on the sides of the tank, rendering them useless.
Inside the vehicle, Ribras shouted furiously:
"Damn it! What was that? Where did the attack come from?"
One of the soldiers, looking at the surveillance screens, quickly reported:
"Sir, apparently there are four individuals flying on what looks like a cloud."
"That golden pest came with backup. Then we'd better deal with them too," Ribras muttered, visibly irritated by the unexpected interference. With a quick gesture, he ordered his men to activate another weapon on the tank. A powerful laser emerged from the top of the vehicle, firing lethal beams directly at Meliradal and her team.
Meliradal skillfully maneuvered her cloud, dodging the attacks while keeping everyone safe. However, she knew she couldn't keep this up for long; the beams lit up the sky like constant lightning, threatening to destabilize her magic.
"Silver, it's time to get to that tank, or it'll escape us," Krasper said urgently.
Acting quickly, Krasper created a giant slingshot made of pure energy. Together with Kilibur, they pulled back the slingshot, placing Silver in the center as a living projectile.
"Aim carefully! I don't want to crash into the ground," Silver shouted, his voice trembling as he felt the tension in the improvised catapult.
Kilibur smiled confidently.
"I'll create doubles of us with my magic. That way, we'll be safe for a while." In the blink of an eye, several identical copies of the guardians appeared around the tank, distracting the soldiers.
Meanwhile, Golden continued chasing the vehicle with fierce determination. Every time he managed to get close enough, a burst of intense fire erupted from beneath the tank, burning the path and forcing him to retreat.
"You'll never defeat this machine, you fools!" Ribras boasted from inside, watching as his countermeasures kept the intruders at bay.
"Cannonball!" Krasper exclaimed, releasing the slingshot and launching Silver directly toward the tank.
Silver's scream echoed through the air as he flew at full speed.
"Whoa! I'm going to die, I'm going to die!" Suddenly, he twisted his body, positioning himself with his fist forward. With a deafening roar, he punched through one of the sides of the tank, leaving a smoking hole.
The impact shook the entire vehicle, and Silver's dramatic landing reverberated inside the main compartment.
"Go check what that is!" Ribras ordered his soldiers, clearly shaken. Meanwhile, he muttered to himself:
"Damn it, we need to get out of here, or else I'll lose everything."
Golden, seeing the opportunity, increased his speed. Instead of continuing in a straight line, he climbed up the side of the vehicle and entered through the same hole Silver had created.
One of the soldiers quickly informed Ribras:
"Sir, two have entered the vehicle!"
Ribras paled, feeling panic begin to take hold of him.
"No, no… This can't be happening. If I arrive at Tehtra without Avocios, I'll be the laughingstock, and they'll punish me to death," he muttered to himself, his mind frantically searching for a desperate solution.
Finally, he made a drastic decision.
"The only thing left for me is to blow up this tank," he murmured resignedly, typing something on his computer.