Chapter 404

Chapter 404

For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Episode 404: Yandel Stands On The Earth (2)

Not long after Yandel entered the golem.

Despite knowing she shouldn’t be like this in a situation where an Evil God might appear, Faye couldn’t suppress the pounding in her chest.

‘Will it move?’

It will move. If it were an object that couldn’t even move, the Clashing Steel wouldn’t have bestowed a blessing upon it.

Just after Faye swallowed hard, her anticipation turned to joy.

Thump.

The sound of the golem’s heart beating, with Yandel and the Dragon Heart as its power source.

The golem’s activation procedure was simple. First, it recognized Yandel’s magic power and then opened the control interface.

When Yandel, having boarded the interface, placed his hand on the activation panel, the golem, which used a part of Yandel as a material, verified that the occupant was indeed Yandel himself.

Finally, once it was confirmed that the rightful owner was on board, Yandel’s magic power was fully supplied to every part of the golem, and in that process, even his senses were synchronized.

The heavy heartbeat from a moment ago meant that the golem, having completed the final procedure, had begun synchronization.

Once it reached this stage, it would operate without any major issues until Yandel dismounted or his mana ran out.

“…Wait. But where is he going to go out?”

Faye, who had focused only on building it, hadn’t considered an exit for the golem.

But before Faye could come up with a solution, changes began to occur in the golem.

Whoosh.

The red lines running across the black armor began to glow. At the same time, a scorching heat emanated from the golem’s entire body.

The Clashing Steel’s blessing must have begun to activate.

“Hiyahk!”

Startled, Faye quickly scampered off to the side. Though the entire place was still the top of the workshop, standing to the side seemed safer than directly in front of it.

Should she go down or stay? It felt dangerous to remain here, but if she stayed, she’d get a better view of the golem in action. She had learned some levitation magic, so if worst came to worst, maybe she could just jump off? And so on.

While Faye ran all sorts of calculations in her head, a purple glow erupted from between the golem’s helmet, one step faster than any conclusion she could reach.

It meant that Yandel’s senses had completely synchronized with the golem.

Realizing this, Faye stopped all her thoughts and stood blankly as the golem’s head slowly began to move in front of her.

Its neck tilted slightly left and right. That familiar gesture somehow resembled Yandel’s usual behavior. It was trying to survey its surroundings and understand the situation.

The golem, which had been cautiously looking around, suddenly stopped in front of Faye. And then, it nodded lightly.

The golem didn’t have a voice system to convey words, but Faye, who had always watched Yandel, knew what that nod meant.

Thank you. You’ve worked hard. You’re amazing, and so on.

The words might be slightly different, but in the end, it would be content acknowledging Faye. Just like always.

For a moment, she felt tears welling up, and she wrinkled her nose. Then, the golem turned its head and fixed its gaze on the twin-headed giant, which was pounding on the barrier on the verge of breaking.

It seemed to ponder something for a moment, and then, as if having made a decision, it slightly bent its knees with a firm stance.

“Hiiiik! Junior?! No! That won’t work, will it?!”

Faye’s face turned white as she realized what Yandel was trying to do… but it was already too late.

The red patterns glowed even more intensely. Whether Yandel hadn’t heard Faye or was pretending not to, he lowered his body a little more…

And then, he jumped.

“Kyaaaaaak!!”

Even if it was using Yandel’s magic power, it would be difficult to generate enough output to lift such a massive body.

Thinking that the workshop, hit by the golem, would collapse, Faye hastily cast levitation magic and tightly closed her eyes.

Thump!

“…Eh?”

What Faye had worried about didn’t happen.

The golem, having jumped high from its spot, cleanly leaped over the workshop building.

Seeing this, her jaw dropped. Only then did she realize what the Clashing Steel’s blessing was.

“Output amplification…?”

Not only Faye, but even Rohan and the artisans under him who had participated in the work stared with wide eyes at the golem’s back.

The golem, lightly clenching and unclenching its fists to check its movements, firmly gripped its fist and then took a stance facing the twin-headed giant.

The fruition of Faye’s past and present kicked off the ground this time to pave the way for the future.

“Wow, damn.”

They say when a person is truly amazed, words fail them. That’s the truth.

A level of awe similar to when I first undressed Carla, or when I buried my face in Faye’s chest, was washing over me.

The high vantage point looking down on the world, and my entire body… no, it’s not my body, so calling it my entire body is a bit wrong.

Anyway, a torrent of power overflowing from the deepest part of my being sent shivers down my spine.

“Now…!”

Clearly, even against the giant that had become the avatar of two Evil Gods, this golem would be able to stand its ground equally!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

With a heavy sound that shook the earth, I kicked off the ground. The scenery flashed by with each step forward.

The distance to the twin-headed giant rapidly closed. The eyes of the creature, which had noticed me, widened.

-I thought you ran away, but you had a trick up your sleeve!

-Hahaha! What can you do with such a toy?! Do you dare to face the might of this Reckless Roar with strength?!

The head of the God of Tainted Unity furrowed its brow, while the head of the Reckless Roar laughed heartily as if amused.

Then, it stopped trying to finish off the almost broken barrier and prepared to meet me.

It extended one arm and one leg, slightly tilting its body. A combat-ready stance to receive me at any moment.

The moment I saw that, the excitement that had been burning within me cooled down as if someone had poured ice down my back.

That’s right. Both the God of Tainted Unity and the Reckless Roar were martial arts-type Evil Gods. Both were the type whose physical specs were stronger than their techniques… but anyway, the fact that they fought well remained unchanged.

At least, they would fight better than me, whose close combat relied entirely on a B-rank martial art skill and system correction.

…So, a magician should fight like a magician.

I focused my weight forward, accelerating even more, and squeezed the magic power from my heart.

The vague sensation I had felt from the moment I synchronized with the golem. Entrusting myself to it, I named the completed image within me.

“[Broken Shield!]”

A trigger word declared in dragon language. Unlike a normal shield, this was a somewhat aggressive magic that scattered fragments outwards and exploded when it received a certain level of impact.

The Broken Shield, which originally should have deployed to the size of my main body, was cast to the size of the golem. Just as I expected.

A translucent barrier unfolded between me and the twin-headed giant in an instant. Uniquely, it had cracks running all over it, causing the two Evil Gods to flinch.

-What?!

-Again! You cowardly bastard…!

Of course, they were momentarily surprised, but trusting in their own power, they launched a counterattack at me as originally intended.

Using the extended arm and leg as an axis, the arm and leg that had been pulled back stretched forward.

Large, bulging muscles. The most dangerous-looking blow among all the previous attacks struck my shield, but…

Boom!

What I heard wasn’t the sharp sound of glass breaking, but an explosion. The shield, which seemed to be holding up for a moment, had exploded according to its inherent structure.

-Kuh-euhk!

-It stings!! But it’s nothing!

Its massive size was in itself an armory and armor. Why else wouldn’t the twin-headed giant take significant damage even when hit head-on by Punishment that was halfway beyond upper-tier magic?

Its excellent regeneration was a factor, but fundamentally, it was because its enormous physique prevented injuries from becoming fatal.

Conversely, it also meant that if the size of the magic increased, I could produce meaningful results no matter what.

The twin-headed giant was covered in shield fragments. However, since both the God of Tainted Unity and the Reckless Roar were durable Evil Gods, the damage from the Broken Shield itself was minimal.

But it also failed to stop my charge.

“Die!!!”

The moment I put all my strength into my body, heat flowed through my entire being. The red lines, said to be the Clashing Steel’s blessing, glowed and flared up.

The moment the blessing’s fire spread through my entire body…

Kwaaaang!

-Kuaaaaak!

-You damn son of a bitch!

A blow far stronger than I had anticipated.

The head of the God of Tainted Unity, struck by a fist carrying immense mass, screamed, and even as the still-intact Reckless Roar flew away, it spat out curses as if resentful.

Of course, the body, unable to withstand the impact, honestly floated up and flew backward.

Thump!

Eventually, it tumbled across the ground.

With this, it was proven that in terms of pure strength alone, the golem was not inferior to the twin-headed giant.

My shoulders and wrists felt a little stiff, perhaps due to the heat from a moment ago…

Pshhhh.

White steam spewed out from the red lines drawn all over the golem’s body, and the faint discomfort completely disappeared.

I didn’t know the principle, but it was probably a kind of overload prevention measure. It wasn’t a god’s blessing for nothing.

The fallen twin-headed giant rolled its body once and quickly stood up, but no matter what, the one who fell couldn’t be faster than the one standing.

“[Greece!]”1

The feet of the creature that had just stood up became slippery. Of course, it seemed to be enduring with just its sense of balance…

Thwack!

Even if it blocked the following dropkick, it had no choice but to fall over.

I swiftly mounted the fallen twin-headed giant and took a mount position.

“Become my dowry obediently!”

From this point on, unilateral beating was effective.

Translator’s note: Likely a misspelling of “Grease,” a magic spell to make things slippery. ↩️