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The ascent, however, was not a simple or easy one. It came with its own sets of challenges.

The ascent to the throne became increasingly treacherous as the Heaven's Hooligans advanced. Each step of the massive staircase seemed to vibrate with an energy of its own, challenging not just their physical strength but their resolve and coordination as a team. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation as if the throne was testing their worthiness with every stride.

As they climbed, the ground beneath them shifted, the steps occasionally moving and reconfiguring themselves to throw them off balance. Platforms that appeared solid would suddenly give way, forcing the team to stay vigilant and adapt quickly to the ever-changing terrain.

The swirling vortex of colors above the throne cast eerie shadows across the path, making it difficult to discern what was real and what was an illusion.

"We need to be careful," Reign cautioned, his eyes scanning the steps ahead for any signs of danger. "This place is trying to mess with our heads."

Mia nodded, her hand glowing with frost magic as she reinforced the ground beneath them, creating patches of ice to stabilize the shifting steps. "Stay close and watch each other's backs. If one of us falls, we all go down."

The team moved in unison, their years of fighting together allowing them to navigate the treacherous ascent with a grace that belied the difficulty of the task. But as they neared the halfway point, a new challenge presented itself.

The air around them began to hum with a low, ominous sound. The vortex of colors above the throne intensified, and from its swirling depths, tendrils of pure energy began to descend, forming tangible shapes that materialized on the staircase ahead. These shapes quickly solidified into fearsome creatures—golems of raw energy, their bodies crackling with power.

Each golem was a towering figure, composed entirely of the same swirling energy that surrounded the throne, their forms shifting and crackling with latent power.

"These things aren't easy to defeat," Wolf muttered, tightening his grip on his greatsword. The flames that wreathed his blade flared up in response, ready for the battle ahead, even though the flames themselves were not that effective against the golems. Of course, his flames were no ordinary flames at all.

Wolf glanced around, looking at other teams who were also trying to get to the throne. It wasn't just them who were fighting against the golems, but every team that managed to get this far. The larger the team, the more golems spawned.

Some teams decided to use another team as a scapegoat and withdraw from battle, but that only made the golems they had been fighting go into a sort of frenzy, turning red and attacking them with greater ferocity as more spawned.

"There's no turning back now," Reign said, his voice filled with determination. "We fight our way through."

The golems surged forward, their movements surprisingly fluid for beings made of energy. They attacked with brutal force, each strike sending out shockwaves that rattled the very air. The Heaven's Hooligans met them head-on, their combined might clashing against the raw power of the golems.

Reign moved like a lightning bolt, his dual swords flashing through the air as he slashed at the nearest golem. His blades, infused with the power of light and darkness, cut through the golem's energy form, causing it to flicker and destabilize. But the creature didn't fall easily. It reformed its body, countering with a massive fist that Reign narrowly avoided.

Still, compared to normal attacks, Reign's did more damage as the golem was obviously smaller this time. His light and darkness were very good at countering their energy forms, as were some other abilities that others of his own team, as well as other teams, had.

Wolf joined the fray, his greatsword crashing against another golem with explosive force. The chaos flames on his blade burned with intensity, searing through the energy form of the golem. Each strike of his sword sent ripples of fire through the creature's body, weakening it with every blow.

It was the chaos energy that did most of the damage, causing the energy that the golems were made out of to destabilize by a bit.

Shadow darkness was also effective, the corrosive properties quickly becoming evident as the color of the golems turned a bit darker after each stab of his daggers. The golems, who struggled to keep up with his rapid movements, were constantly being injured by him, who was not aiming to incapacitate or destroy them.

He went as fast as he could, aiming at different golems each time, stabbing them a couple of times to weaken them with his darkness before moving on to other ones and leaving the weakened ones to the others.

Mia's frost magic was particularly effective against the golems, but not when it came to destroying them, but to slow them down immensely. Even energy itself would get frozen from her frost, which meant that the golems that attacked her were quickly slowed down, and if she focused on one, she could freeze it for a period of time.

Tank and Greenie worked together to hold the line, using their combined strength to push back the golems. Tank's shields absorbed the brunt of the golems' attacks, while Greenie's hammer delivered crushing blows that shattered the golems' energy cores. The two of them created a formidable barrier that the golems struggled to break through.

Their powers, however, were not suitable when it came to destroying the golems, and neither was Aelrinder's or Beast's wind manipulation.

Aelrinder's spear danced through the air, his strikes precise as he used his wind manipulation to enhance his attacks, creating gusts of wind that sliced through the golems' forms, but they quickly reformed and continued attacking him.

Beast was constantly raining down arrows with unerring accuracy. His wind manipulation allowed him to guide his arrows through the chaotic battlefield, striking his opponents in their most vulnerable spots, but the golems had no such spots.

They had no weak spots, only certain forms of energy were more effective than others, and that was it.

Jin's explosions were a constant presence on the battlefield, doing his best to try and disorient the golems and create openings for his teammates. The blasts did little to the golems other than cause their forms to be disturbed for a short period of time, and they did not get disoriented at all, but it still worked to help the rest of the team. Enjoy exclusive content from empire

Laura's demonic energy was effective, however. It was similar to Shadow's darkness when used against the golems who were made out of energy, out of pure mana. Demonic energy was a different kind of energy, and the two would clash.

Each time her spells or attacks made out of demonic energy hit the golems and destroyed a part of their bodies, the demonic energy would linger, and when the golem attempted to reform itself, the lingering demonic energy would clash with the energy the golem was made out of, stopping the reformation and causing more damage to the golem.

Despite the overwhelming odds, the Heaven's Hooligans fought with a ferocity that left no room for doubt. They were a well-oiled machine, each member playing their part to perfection. The golems, powerful as they were, couldn't withstand the relentless assault of the team.

As the Heaven's Hooligans pressed forward, the number of golems seemed endless. For every golem they defeated, another would rise from the swirling energy surrounding the throne.

But their goal was not to destroy all the golems, but to get to the throne.

They were constantly moving forward, inching closer to the throne as they battled against the golems.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of battle, the last of the golems fell down, and Reign and the others were surprised to find that no more appeared. The swirling energy around the throne calmed, and the path to the Ascendant's Throne was finally clear. The team stood amidst the dissipating energy, their breaths heavy but their resolve unshaken.

The team continued their ascent, the final steps feeling both exhilarating and daunting. They knew that they were on the brink of victory, but also that the throne itself might hold one last challenge. Each step brought them closer to their goal, the energy in the air growing more intense with every meter they climbed.

They glanced around them, and couldn't see a single other team who had managed to get through the horde of golems yet, which was a good thing for them.

Most teams didn't have multiple people who had abilities that were as effective against the golems as those that Reign, Wolf, Shadow, and Laura had, and couldn't get through them as fast as they did.

"Hey, once we get the throne, do we also get to keep the golems, and have them help us during those 5 minutes?" Shadow asked with a smile as the others chuckled.

"As if the system would allow something like that to happen."

"Yeah, all of the powers the throne had will probably disappear and the rest of the teams will be free to attack us, there are even some who are waiting for that moment, they stepped on the base of the staircase and haven't moved an inch from there."