"Jiang Chen!"
Jean hurried down toward him.
The torrential rain soaked them both instantly. Her golden hair clung to her cheeks, but this was hardly the time to worry about appearances.
"We need to destroy it."
Jiang Chen slowly drew Wolf's Gravestone.
Before them stood the ancient machine.
Ruin Guard
Level: Lv20
An ancient humanoid combat machine, rumored to be a weapon left behind by a long-fallen nation.
"Even if it's a valuable relic, we have no choice," Jean said calmly.
Her grey-violet eyes locked onto the machine as she raised her Favonius sword.
The Ruin Guard's joints crackled as power returned.
The core inside its head began glowing yellow.
The electrical field around it vanished.
Then it stepped forward—
Each step splashing water like waves across the flooded ruins.
Battle in the Storm
"Have you fought one before?" Jiang Chen shouted over the rain.
"Yes," Jean replied.
"Good."
Jiang Chen leapt forward.
His greatsword sliced through the rain as it descended toward the Ruin Guard's face.
Boom!
The machine reacted instantly, raising its arm to block.
At the same moment, a wind-swift figure appeared behind it.
Jean's blade spiraled with wind and rain as she thrust forward.
"Gale Blade!"
She struck toward the Ruin Guard's head—the location of its power core.
The sword pierced the metal plating but was forced back by a surge of electricity before reaching the core.
Jean wasn't surprised.
If it were that easy, the Ruin Guard wouldn't be such a dangerous weapon.
They landed together.
The machine spun around—
Both arms swinging wide.
"Spin attack!" Jiang Chen warned.
He blocked and slid backward.
Jean, wielding a one-handed sword, couldn't block with the same force. She rolled across the rain-soaked ground.
But the Ruin Guard's spinning attack—its terrifying "windmill" rotation—was already charging toward her.
Water droplets blasted across her body with painful force.
Jean raised her sword.
"Wind—answer my call!"
"Dandelion Breeze!"
A protective wind field formed around her.
"Up!"
Jiang Chen shouted.
A stone pillar erupted beneath her feet, lifting her upward.
Jean immediately jumped onto a broken stone column nearby.
The Ruin Guard's spinning arms smashed against the pillar and jammed.
The impact shook Jean off balance.
She fell—
But Jiang Chen leapt forward and caught her by the waist.
At the same moment he drove Wolf's Gravestone into the Ruin Guard's head.
Wind energy exploded inside the machine.
The recoil threw Jiang Chen backward, sliding across the wet stone floor.
Jean sat up on top of him.
"Are you alright?" she asked worriedly.
"Only the fall hurt," he said.
"Though this position might hurt me more."
Jean froze.
She followed his gaze downward—
Her rain-soaked white knight trousers were pressed directly against him.
Her face instantly flushed crimson.
Rain streamed down her cheeks.
"You still have time to notice something like that," she said, standing up quickly.
"That means you're fine."
Finishing the Ruin Guard
The Ruin Guard crackled with electricity but remained temporarily disabled.
If not for the rainstorm, they could have finished it immediately.
Jiang Chen summoned his sword back into his hand.
"Next time we should grab the crystal and run," he muttered.
Jean tightened her stance.
"Get ready!"
The Ruin Guard suddenly crouched—
Then leapt.
Both of them dodged as it slammed down, sending water spraying everywhere.
It rotated and launched six tracking missiles from its back.
"Stone wall!"
Jiang Chen raised a barrier.
The missiles struck the wall and detonated instantly.
The explosion staggered the Ruin Guard.
Jean seized the moment.
She dashed behind it and thrust her blade upward into the weakened head casing.
Jiang Chen followed with a downward strike.
Their blades crossed inside the machine's head.
Energy surged violently.
They jumped back—
BOOM!
The Ruin Guard's head exploded.
Flames briefly flared before being extinguished by the rain.
The Dragon Tear
"Your Geo abilities are impressive," Jean said with genuine admiration.
Without that stone barrier, hitting the core would have been far harder.
They approached the glowing tear crystal left by Dvalin.
Jean reached toward it but immediately felt pain from the lingering curse.
Jiang Chen extended his hand.
System Prompt:
Curse detected within the crystal.
Purify?
Yes.
Soft green light flowed through the crystal.
The curse dissolved instantly.
"So it really works…" Jean murmured in amazement.
Jiang Chen handed her the purified tear.
"Let's find somewhere to shelter from the rain."
Jean nodded.
"I saw a collapsed stone arch earlier. It might work."
Lightning flashed in the distance near Starsnatch Cliff.
Both of them instinctively flinched.
Soon they found the place Jean mentioned.
A fallen archway formed a triangular shelter against the mountain wall.
Inside were old ashes from previous adventurers' camps.
Jiang Chen quickly started a fire.
Warm light filled the shelter.
Jean sat down, soaked from head to toe.
Her knight uniform clung tightly to her figure.
The firelight made her face glow softly.
Jiang Chen glanced once—
Only to meet her gaze.
He coughed awkwardly and tossed her a dry cloak.
Then he turned away toward the dark rain outside.
Jean accepted the cloak quietly.
"Jiang Chen… can we set up camp here?"
"Yeah."
He set up a tent while she helped.
Soon Jean went inside to change.
The rain hammered the stone above.
A moment later she emerged wearing the cloak and carrying her soaked uniform.
"I need to dry my clothes," she said softly.
Jiang Chen set up a rack near the fire and respectfully entered the tent to give her privacy.
Through the fabric of the tent he could see her silhouette moving in the firelight.
"Guess I'll be sleeping in the tent tonight," he muttered.
Just then—
The tent flap opened.
Jean stepped inside.
They stared at each other.
Jiang Chen swallowed.
"You today…"
Jean looked down at the ground.
Slowly she unfastened the clasp of the cloak.
"Today…"
"I'm not the Acting Grand Master."
She paused.
"…Just Jean."
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