~~~
This plan is absolutely fucking insane.
Rudy crouched behind a crumbling pillar as another laser beam carved through the air where his head had been moments before. The superheated energy left glowing scars in the ancient stone, and he could smell the acrid scent of melted rock mixing with his own sweat.
Jin's rapid-fire explanation still echoed in his ears—something about blue tiles, aggro mechanics, and a ten-second window that would determine whether they lived or died horribly.
"You want me to do what exactly?" Rudy had asked, ducking as concentrated flames washed over their cover like liquid hellfire.
"Well, I want you to occupy our dear Boss," Jin had replied with that manic grin that meant he was either a genius or completely off his rocker. "For ten seconds—just ten, though if you want, you can buy more time. But what I need is for you to hold every bit of aggro in this room while I activate the blue tile."
Tank everything. Sure. Just tank a peak ORDER II, no ORDER III golem and four laser-shooting drones simultaneously. No big deal at all.
What could possibly go wrong?
But even as his rational mind catalogued all the ways this could go catastrophically wrong—which was a very, very long list—Rudy found himself nodding. Because this was Jin. The same Jin who'd somehow known about the dungeon portal, who'd guided them through impossible trials, who'd kept them alive when everything should have killed them multiple times over.
Dad always said the most important quality in a warrior isn't courage—it's knowing when to trust your companion absolutely.
"Here." Jin pressed two vials into Rudy's hands, and something in his friend's expression made Rudy pause mid-thought.
That wasn't confidence in Jin's eyes. That was uncertainty, worry, and more than a bit of guilt that suggested Jin thought this plan might be signing his best friend's death warrant.
He thinks this could kill me.
Instead of fear, that realization triggered something deeper in Rudy's chest. His protective instincts flared—not just for himself, but for Jin. His friend was carrying the weight of their survival on his shoulders, making impossible decisions with incomplete information, and tearing himself apart over every risk he had to ask others to take.
Someone needs to be the foundation he can build on. Someone needs to be unbreakable so he doesn't have to carry everything alone.
"Potions of fire resistance," Jin said, his voice carefully controlled in that way that meant he was fighting not to show how worried he was. "Should help with the flame attacks."
"Should," Rudy repeated, noting the qualifier. He downed both vials without hesitation, feeling liquid heat spread through his veins like molten iron filling his bones. The taste was awful—like drinking liquid sulfur mixed with cinnamon—but the warmth that followed was reassuring. "Good enough for me, bro."
The relief that flashed across Jin's face was worth any risk.
"Rudy, listen." Jin grabbed his shoulder, eyes deadly serious. "Warrior's Call—your new ability—it's like a taunt that forces every enemy to focus on you. Everything in this room will try to kill you and only you."
"Got it. Ten seconds of hell." Rudy grinned, testing the weight of his greatsword. "Sounds like a party."
"The moment it ends, they'll be confused for about two seconds. That's when you run. Don't try to be a hero after the timer expires, you hear me?"
Rudy's grin widened. "Says the guy asking me to tank a boss and four mini-bosses simultaneously."
"That's different. This is calculated stupidity, not reckless heroics."
"If you say so, Mr. Genius." Rudy rolled his shoulders, feeling his new armor adjust to his movements. "Just don't take too long with whatever magical bullshit you're planning. I'm tough, but I'm not immortal."
"I know. Just... be careful, okay?"
Time to see what all this fancy new gear can actually do.
***
Rudy hefted the Greatsword of Forlorn, feeling its weight settle into his grip like it had been crafted specifically for his hands. The blade hummed with potential energy, its crystal veins pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
Alright, you oversized pile of rocks. Let's dance.
He broke from cover in a controlled sprint—not charging blindly like some berserker, but using his father's lessons. Pillar to pillar, timing the drone laser cycles, watching for the brief windows when the golem's attention shifted to track Jin's movements.
A laser tracked his movement, the red targeting beam painting his armor for two crucial seconds before firing. Rudy dove left, the superheated energy carving through empty air as he rolled behind another pillar.
Five-second cycle. Two seconds to lock on, then they fire whether you're there or not.
Another laser, another dodge. His new armor moved with him like it was reading his intentions, the essence-conductive material making his movements more fluid than they had any right to be. He could actually feel the difference—where his old gear would have been dead weight, this stuff felt alive, responsive.
Getting closer. Time to commit.
The golem's massive head swiveled toward him as he broke into the open center of the chamber, those crystalline photoreceptors focusing on him with mechanical intensity. Up close, the thing was even more terrifying—easily three times his height, covered in layers of obsidian armor that seemed to drink in the light.
Concentrated flames erupted from its hands in twin streams that would have turned him into ash if not for the fire resistance potions. Instead, the heat washed over him like stepping into a furnace—painful, overwhelming, but survivable.
Now or never.
Rudy planted his feet, raised his greatsword in a classic challenge stance that his father had drilled into him a thousand times, and felt something deep in his armor respond to his intent.
"Hey! You stupid collection of metal and rocks!" he roared, putting every ounce of defiance he could muster into his voice.
The world shifted.
It wasn't a physical change—the chamber looked the same, the enemies moved the same. But suddenly, inevitability settled over the battlefield like a suffocating shroud. Every targeting system, every aggressive protocol, every hostile instinct in the room locked onto Rudy with supernatural certainty.
This is what Jin meant by forced engagement. They literally can't attack anything else while this is active.
The drones swiveled toward him in perfect unison, their photoreceptors blazing red. The golem's flames concentrated into focused streams aimed directly at his position. Even the ambient magical energy in the chamber seemed to bend toward him like gravity wells converging on a single point.
For ten seconds, Rudy became the center of a storm designed specifically to kill him.
***
Ten seconds.
Laser beams converged on his position from four directions simultaneously. Rudy got his shield up in time to deflect two, feeling the Bulwark of Duran absorb impacts that should have vaporized him on the spot. The other two carved burning lines across his shoulder and thigh, but his armor's protective enchantments kept the wounds from being immediately fatal.
Eight seconds left.
The golem's concentrated flame stream hit him like a dragon's breath made manifest. The fire resistance potions kept him from being incinerated instantly, but even reduced to survivable levels, the heat was excruciating. He could smell his own hair singeing, feel his armor's self-repair systems working frantically to prevent critical damage.
This is insane. This is absolutely insane. Why did I agree to this?
Because Jin asked. And when Jin asks, there's usually a good reason.
Seven seconds.
A massive stone fist the size of a battering ram slammed down toward his head. Rudy caught it on his shield, the impact driving him to one knee as the ancient floor cracked beneath his feet. His enhanced strength held, but just barely—he could feel his muscles screaming in protest.
This is what it means to be the Colossus. Not moving an inch because moving means Jin dies.
Through the overwhelming assault, Rudy kept one eye on his friend's progress. Jin was at the blue tile now, hands pressed against its surface, essence flowing in complex patterns that made the air around him shimmer. Even from here, Rudy could see the strain on Jin's face, the way blood trickled from his nose as he pushed his magical abilities beyond their safe limits.
Come on, Jin. I can't hold this forever.
Six seconds.
Another laser caught him in the side, and this time his armor's protection wasn't quite enough. The beam punched through a gap in his defenses and seared a line across his ribs. Rudy bit back a scream, using the pain to fuel his determination instead of letting it break his concentration.
The Colossus doesn't fall. The Colossus endures.
His greatsword grew lighter in his grip as his vitality dropped—the weapon responding to his injuries by becoming deadlier even as his body weakened. It was a cruel irony, but one he could use.
Five seconds.
The golem's fist came down again, and this time Rudy couldn't fully block it. The impact sent him sprawling, his shoulder burning with dislocated agony. Stars exploded across his vision, but he forced himself to stay conscious, to keep his eyes on Jin.
His friend's face lit up with success as the blue tile began to pulse with activated power.
Four seconds.
Three seconds.
Everything came at him at once—lasers, flames, crushing stone fists that could pulverize mountains. His armor's emergency systems triggered, absorbing what should have been a killing blow and discharging the excess energy in a burst of light. The feedback left him gasping, feeling like he'd been put through a meat grinder made of pure pain.
Two seconds.
One second.
Time stopped.
***
The Warrior's Call ability released its supernatural hold on reality, and suddenly the overwhelming aggro dissipated like smoke in a hurricane. The drones' targeting systems went haywire, spinning in confused circles as their combat protocols reset. The golem's flames sputtered as it tried to process why its primary target had suddenly vanished from its threat assessment.
Rudy collapsed to one knee, breathing hard, his body a detailed map of burns and cuts that should have killed him three times over. But he was alive—battered, bleeding, probably concussed, but definitely alive.
More importantly, he'd given Jin the opening he needed.
The blue tile blazed with brilliant light, sending waves of magical energy rippling across the chamber like rings in a disturbed pond.
BOOOOOM.
The explosion shook the entire dungeon. A blinding flash erupted from the golem's core as its shield system overloaded and detonated in a cascade of destructive feedback. The blast wave threw Rudy backward, but he rolled with it, using his shield to deflect the worst of the debris raining down from the damaged ceiling.
When the light faded and his vision cleared, the golem stood swaying like a drunk trying to stay upright. Its left arm hung in twisted ruins, sparks cascading from severed magical conduits like liquid fire. Warning lights flashed across its obsidian body in urgent red pulses, and a grinding alarm echoed through the chamber like the world's angriest smoke detector.
The four combat drones crashed to the ground one by one, their power sources fried by the magical feedback surge. They lay still as corpses, smoke rising from their cracked shells.
"Rudy! You alive over there?"
"Barely," Rudy managed, but he was grinning despite the pain radiating through every inch of his body. "Next time I'm picking the plan, you crazy bastard!"
"I'll hold you to that!" Jin's voice carried across the chamber, still standing at the blue tile with his hands glowing with residual magical energy. "But first, let's finish this thing! Hit it with everything you've got!"
Rudy felt the Greatsword of Forlorn sing in his grip, its crystal veins pulsing brighter as it responded to his damaged state. The weapon was lighter than air now, perfectly balanced, a flawless extension of his will made manifest.
He pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the protests from his battered body, and dropped into a combat stance. Power built in his legs like a coiled spring, ready to unleash devastation.
This is it. Time to finish this oversized pile of animated rubble.
The golem turned toward him, its remaining systems trying to lock onto him as a threat, but its damaged state made its movements sluggish and predictable. Perfect.
Rudy charged forward with a battle cry that echoed off the ancient walls, his greatsword blazing with crystalline fire as he closed the distance in three powerful strides.
For Jin. For both of us. And because someone needs to teach this thing that you don't mess with my friends.
~~~