The Author Reincarnated As An Extra-Chapter 53: • Dual Adversaries

There was a movement in the air, a change of intensity that even Varion and Sarah caught immediately. The Goliath Mammoth must have felt it too because either in a fit of anger or irritation, it let out an ear splitting trumpet.

The siblings covered their ears immediately, blocking out the sound as much as they could while the force of the burst shook the very river itself.

Then, they felt that familiar bone-chilling aura again. From the golden gates.

A presence. A massive, looming shadow.

Varion and Sarah froze. Deremiah, now on the boat, turned around with Cestrel, their eyes widening at the sight of that relentless guardian.

"No way," Deremiah muttered.

From behind the gates, the towering structure of stone emerged. Tall, humanoid yet emotionless, dressed in a religious garment of worship and war. Driven by a purpose.

The Stone Sentinel’s enormous form bent as it entered through the celestial archway, blocking the bright light with its silhouette before stepping through into the new expense.

Each step it took sent deep tremors through the river. For a moment it froze as though searching for someone. Then, its eyes locked with the Goliath Mammoth who looked greatly displeased to see the stone giant.

Although humongous, the Stone Sentinel was defeated in size when compared to the jupiterian Mammoth. However, with that colossal sword in its hand, it was still a terrifying sight.

Deremiah’s heart pounded

"It didn’t give up. I never wrote that the Stone Sentinel could pass through the doors."

The river rumbled as the Sentinel continued to take more steps closer, and Elora who was about to make her swing back to the boat, knew it was best to stay where she was. At least for the time being.

The Stone Sentinel... had not forgotten its prey.

Standing catly on the tusk of the Mammoth, Elora stiffened. "This monster is still chasing me."

Whatever the Goliath Mammoth was standing on, it trembled as well as the Sentinel took another step, causing the beast itself to shake.

Elora had to keep her balance to prevent herself from falling, while also staring fearfully at the approaching guardian of stone.

And then— DONG!

The terrifying sound of the Trial Leaderboard rang in the air, the giant interface appeared beside the Mammoth, showing that Grendon Godless and Aricelle Denign were still the first two.

Elora had dropped to fourth with Adrian Belltower taking her place. However, multiple sounds of elimination rung as well as numerous names were also taken off the list.

Then, Deremiah finally saw his name: Deremiah Morcant at number 20. And it was directly below another important name: Zenith Moonbreak.

Dong!

There was no time to spend with being surprised, because the voice of the Inquisitor came, and he had an announcement.

[Duo adversaries has been activated]

[Due to the presence of another high level threat in this Corridor, the present participants will now face Dual Adversaries]

The words came from everywhere and nowhere, sinking into their bones. The Inquisitor’s voice was not spoken but imposed upon them.

[Your Adversaries are: Stone Sentinel, Arximus]

[A defender of the River of Tears and guardian to its power. Stone Sentinels are tasked to punish the ones who taint the silence of the River]

[Beast Mode: Programmed]

[Echelon: Gilded]

[Second Adversary: Goliath Mammoth]

[The Goliath Mammoth stands before you. A construct of forgotten titans. The weeping and slumbering god of this Fifth Trial. A beast that defies mortality. It cannot be slain by simple blades or sorcery. Its existence is held by three Pillars of Form. To bring it down, all three must be shattered in succession.]

The Mammoth let out a deep exhale, shaking the air.

Although Deremiah knew all of these already, he listened carefully. On the other side, Varion made sure his sister did as well.

[The three Pillars are; The Spine Pillar. The Heart Pillar. The Core Pillar. When these are destroyed, the beast will fall. Fail, and the Trial will consume you all.]

[Beast Mode: Paragon]

[Echelon: Shadowed]

Silence. Just for a while.

The same thought went through all their minds. Three Pillars. Clearly, now they were at the Fifth Trial, final bosses were going to start being a thing.

And taking down these bosses wasn’t going to be just about brute force. Take the Goliath Mammoth for example, they now had to take down three parts of its body before it would die.

Even worse... the fucking Stone Sentinel.

It took another step, its blazing gaze never leaving Elora.

Now they had two impossible enemies.

Elora’s hands tightened around her sword. "This is impossible."

For Deremiah, he was brainstorming as hard as he could. Personally, he had nothing to worry about from the Sentinel. Even Varion who had attacked it had nothing to fear at all.

Stone Sentinels were not beings of revenge or anger, but simply purpose and duty. And making sure Elora was dead was this Sentinel’s duty, for she had desecrated the silence of the River.

Still, Deremiah knew he had to do something.

His mind raced.

The Mammoth. The Sentinel. Three Pillars.

How do you kill something that refuses to die?

He needed leverage.

He needed destruction.

Then his mind clicked.

"I have a plan."

Cestrel turned to him, curious. "A plan?"

Deremiah’s eyes snapped to the Mammoth’s trunk. Then to the tusks. Then to the Sentinel’s molten body.

His heartbeat slowed. ’Yes. That would work.’

"What are you planning?" Cestrel asked him, watching the thoughtful expressions on his face as he rumbled like a mad man.

Being the author of the novel, Deremiah didn’t believe in impossible fights. Only unsolved puzzles.

The Inquisitor’s announcement had given him the pieces:

1. The Goliath Mammoth was held together by three Pillars of Form.

2. Destroying them was the only way to kill it.

3. The Stone Sentinel was still locked onto Elora.

Most people would see this as two problems.

Deremiah saw it as a single solution.

Because the Sentinel wasn’t just a mindless juggernaut — it was an executioner. And what did executioners carry?

Weapons.

The colossal stone sword the Sentinel wielded was powerful enough to carve through anything. It was a weapon meant to bring absolute judgment. If something that massive could cut down Elora...

It could destroy the Mammoth’s Pillars, too. freewebnσvel.cøm

That was the plan.

1. Elora would act as bait. She’d position herself near one of the Mammoth’s Pillars, making it seem like she was exposed.

2. The Sentinel, locked onto her presence, would swing its devastating sword down to finish her.

3. At the last second, Deremiah would teleport her away, leaving nothing but the Pillar in the sword’s path.

4. The sword — already in motion — would slam straight into the Pillar and obliterate it.

5. Rinse and repeat.

He then stopped with the mind rumblings and turned to Cestrel. "We’re going to kill two beasts with one mistake."

The girl didn’t get any clarity with that. "How— what are you talking about?"

"Stay here!" he said to her. "I’ll be right back." Then, he instantly warped into goo and reappeared in front of Elora on the tusk.

She gasped. "What are you doing? You had escaped. You’re free."

Deremiah narrowed his eyes. "I don’t know how many times I have to say it. The only one who gets to kill you is me."

A/N: Please do not purchase the next tier yet until next month. Update and pricing issues

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