Ch.130Rampage (1)

After a roar that seemed to shake the soul echoed from beyond.

Normally, I would never confront such an obviously dangerous situation head-on.

Since the Mage Tower branch holds absolutely no value to me, there’s naturally no reason to risk my life fighting for it, especially if I were already fed up with the various incidents caused by “Gluttony.”

But… but as luck would have it, the place where this cry came from was the Metal School’s… where Lord Malakai Falten had briefly stopped by on business.

To be honest, I couldn’t care less about strangers I’ve never even seen dying, but somehow it feels unsettling when a “acquaintance” I’ve grown somewhat close to might die.

“Take care, Young Master Camille.”

“…Is this really okay?”

“Yes. We can just rely on the Red Meteor for a while.”

Now with my two subordinates subtly encouraging me to act as I see fit, I finally followed the voice in my heart and headed toward the Metal School branch where that roar had echoed earlier.

Heh, learning that this inner voice is what people commonly call conscience was just a bonus.

Anyway, after quickly striding forward with hurried steps, I reached the place. The scene that greeted my eyes at the site of the commotion was…

‘…Huh?’

A bizarre, surreal situation where a giant humanoid robot over 10 meters tall was engaged in combat with dozens of magicians.

Figures presumed to be magicians mounted on golem armor moved to protect their allies, while magicians in the rear cast all sorts of intricate spells to fight against the enemy.

However, the biggest problem was that this enemy was truly, overwhelmingly powerful.

This golem, standing over 10 meters tall, was a massive weapon with an appearance similar to a Terumi… and was visibly equipped with all sorts of advanced military weapons hanging all over its body.

On its arms were what appeared to be a gun-like weapon and a shield.

In its right hand, it held what looked like a twin-barreled machine gun with an attached shield, while in its left hand was a shield with an extremely military sci-fi design.

Additionally, both shoulders (backpack) were equipped with multiple missile pods and what appeared to be a massive magical direct-fire cannon, and several more missile pods were attached to its joints and thigh sections.

Furthermore, various auxiliary weapons, presumably foldable, were equipped throughout its body, and the armor covering its body was likely additional plating.

‘S… no, what the hell is this….’

In this surreal scene where a giant robot beyond my comprehension had appeared and was exchanging attacks with magicians, I confirmed that Lord Malakai Falten, whom I had come looking for, was fighting alongside other magicians against this enormous robot… golem.

However, the situation was clearly far from normal.

Ordinarily, a golem made of metal would be mere child’s play for Metal School magicians—the kind of opponent they could crush with a single gesture, given the extreme compatibility.

The essence of the Metal School is ultimately “manipulating” metal. For such practitioners, transforming existing metal—not creating metal from nothing or making things out of metal—should be as easy as falling off a log.

‘…It’s deflecting?’

But there was one element I hadn’t predicted at all: this massive golem armor was easily deflecting their magic.

This was comparable to magic nullification. When magic is cast against a being with overwhelming magical resistance or defense, it gets nullified from the moment of manifestation and bounces off…

Moreover, this defense wasn’t limited to just Metal School magic.

Magicians in purple robes, apparently from the Soul School, were firing what looked like attacks made of purple magical energy, but even these had no effect whatsoever.

Furthermore, they were deploying several golem armors and golems as vanguards, but these too were proving ineffective against the 10-meter-tall robot? golem?

So in this unprecedented situation, as I felt my senses returning after the initial shock, I was about to move my body to jump into the battlefield when…

At that very moment.

-Woooong—KWAAAANG!!!

‘A beam…?!!’

Suddenly, the creature aimed what looked like a twin-barreled machine gun with an attached shield at a golem, and what shot out from its muzzle was none other than a red beam of light.

This beam attack, whose intensity I could hardly define, pierced through one golem with a single hit, and those that took the high-energy beam attack directly to their power source exploded with a loud BANG!

Truly a terrifying power. Even I wouldn’t survive unscathed if hit by such a powerful beam attack, but nevertheless, I could draw a few conclusions.

First, while the beam itself traveled at an incredible speed, aiming the muzzle accurately was a separate issue, making it likely difficult to hit small targets.

Second, the weapon systems wrapped around its body were probably designed primarily for large targets.

Of course, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that it had hidden anti-personnel rapid-fire auxiliary weapons somewhere, but from the current situation, it seemed unlikely that it would draw such weapons immediately.

-…Sring.

Therefore, after observing the situation briefly, I concluded that what was needed to deal with this wasn’t a heavy blow but a sharp dagger.

In other words, it was time for the Unicorn Horn Longsword to make its appearance.

-Slash.

The moment I grabbed the handle, the scabbard, cut by the blade, split in half and fell away with a slicing sound.

Since the sword is so sharp that the scabbard gets cut in two every time I draw it, this weapon was designed with the concept of using disposable scabbards.

Anyway, having drawn my sword, I calmly tried to identify its weakness.

Considering that it’s a golem (an imitation of humans in the mystical sense) even though it looks like a robot, there’s a high probability that it would stop functioning if I beheaded it or smashed its head.

But there are two variables here.

One is that my “Weakness Detection” and “Hyper Intuition” tell me that its weakness is definitely not the head, and the other variable is that this being transcends the definition of an ordinary golem.

Originally, golems were human imitations created by humans imitating the work of the almighty God, which is why golems must take human form unless certain workarounds are used.

The reason why inherently unstable bipedal human-form weapons are used without considering efficiency is precisely because of the special mystical influence naturally formed when golems adopt human form.

Therefore, certain types of damage that disrupt this human form, such as decapitation, would reduce functionality by about 40% even if the head had no actual function…

The problem is that the technology used in its body likely goes far beyond simple golem structure.

Apart from the modern “workarounds” for golem structure I mentioned earlier, if ancient technology remains, I can’t rule out the possibility that it might continue moving even after losing its head.

‘…Tch.’

So while clicking my tongue, I was preparing to dismember its body when…

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, I felt as if my eyes met with those inside its goggles.

Sensing some warning that something was about to fly toward me, I hurriedly threw my body sideways and launched a preemptive slash.

And… exactly 0.5 seconds later.

-WEEEEEEEEEEENG!!!

A hot beam fired from its eyes scorched the ground where I had been standing just moments ago, but even though my slash had merely grazed it, it had left a mark on its armor…

“Lord Falten—!!”

“I understand!! Everyone, help that warrior! It’s our only chance to win!!”

“””””””””—Yes!!!”””””””””

Following Lord Falten’s orders, support magic and buffs were cast on me from all directions as they judged I had a chance of winning, while that giant ancient artifact also began aiming its weapons at me.

And in the midst of this…

“….Huff.”

Feeling the surge of energy boiling up within my body, I focused my heightened nerves and threw myself toward that monster (golem armor) before me.