Ch.539The Tomb of the Twelve Knights

The air in a basement is always unpleasantly damp. Especially if it’s a sealed space.

So, it was only natural that I took out a cigarette to replace the stuffy air with refreshing mint.

‘Got it?’

[What’s so natural about that? Now you’re making up the strangest excuses.]

Hersella didn’t seem too pleased watching me use her ancestor’s tomb as an ashtray. Not that I cared.

It’s your ancestor, not mine.

Anyway, I puffed away at my cigarette while exploring the mausoleum by the light of an oil lamp. No, perhaps “exploring” is too grand a word. It was more like sightseeing.

It had been nearly five minutes since I descended the underground stairs and started walking down the wide corridor, but all I could see in the flickering crimson light were pillars connecting passages and dusty stone walls.

There wasn’t the slightest sign of any living creature, nor were there any traps like collapsing floors or arrows shooting out.

Corridor, corner, another corridor, an unremarkable small room, a statue, corridor.

The mausoleum was so quiet and ordinary that any tension had completely disappeared, and there wasn’t a hint of danger to be found. The equipment I’d so grandly prepared was starting to feel embarrassing.

Occasionally there were urns containing burial goods, but when opened, any armor or weapons were completely rusted, and even the ornaments were just ordinary gold pieces rather than sacred artifacts.

Sure, gold and jewels would fetch a price if sold… but I couldn’t possibly sell items from this place, and I wasn’t particularly short on money anyway, so they were just meaningless trinkets to me.

‘There’s really nothing here…’

[Didn’t the white-haired woman say the same? That it was an unremarkable tomb.]

Hersella chuckled, mocking me. She seemed to find it quite amusing that I had insisted something would be here and brought all sorts of equipment.

I walked for another five minutes.

—-

There was something after all.

Though not quite what I expected.

The space suddenly opened up wide. In front of the doorway leading across the passage stood a dark, metallic mass rising like a hill.

[What on earth is that…?]

Hersella expressed her confusion.

Instead of answering, I cautiously raised my oil lamp toward the massive object in the distance.

A shape like a giant covered in molten iron and then clad in heavy armor. It wasn’t difficult to identify.

‘…It’s a Colossus. A war machine made by ancient dwarves in the image of giants. Though it seems all its core armaments have been removed.’

Originally it would have been a weapon that fired things like machine guns or rockets, but the Colossus before me carried only a single massive sword and had no firearms equipped at all.

…I didn’t expect to see something like this in the underground of the Holy State. Dwarves are hysterically sensitive about technology leaks and wouldn’t allow their main weapons to fall into human hands.

Ah. Since this is the tomb of the Great’s Twelve Knights, perhaps they forcibly took it from the dwarves back then?

Well… anyway, I should destroy it first.

It’s clearly positioned with a “defeat me if you want to enter” kind of feeling. Perhaps it’s meant as a final test.

I was right after all. I thought there might be something like this.

I set the oil lamp on the ground, narrowed my eyes to watch for any movement, and slowly approached. Gripping Durandal firmly with both hands.

A Colossus without firearms shouldn’t be too difficult an opponent… but I couldn’t let my guard down. The strength of a Colossus varied tremendously depending on its material and power source.

The weaker ones could be handled by two or three Masters, but the stronger ones could give even Hero-class knights trouble. If they went to the trouble of placing it in the tomb of the Great’s Twelve Knights, it must be one of the better-performing models.

How strong it is… I’ll find out when I fight it.

After closing the distance sufficiently, I kicked off the ground and charged toward it.

– Kwaaang!

A blue afterglow stretched out like a tail. A surprise attack doubling as reconnaissance. I held back somewhat so I could retreat at any moment depending on its reaction.

In an instant, the gap between us closed to point-blank range. Close enough that if it swung its sword, it would immediately reach me. However, the Colossus remained sitting without any reaction.

What? No reaction even at this distance?

Is it a trap?

Suspicion flashed through my mind.

It was too defenseless, even for being defenseless. It seemed like nothing but a trap to lure me in.

Landmines? Electromagnetic shield? Reactive armor?

I don’t know what might come, but I need to create distance…!

– Kwaddeuk!

I stomped the ground hard enough to shatter it, stopping my momentum and leaping back to take a defensive stance.

As if a hunk of metal could trap me, did it think I’d fall for such a trick? Let’s see it try.

I was confident I could block whatever came as long as I maintained distance.

…

[…What are you doing?]

…And nothing happened.

The Colossus simply remained still, showing no interest whether I approached or retreated.

It really just stood there motionless.

…

Don’t tell me…

With an ominous thought suddenly occurring to me, I silently took out my bow and shot an arrow at the Colossus.

– Teong!

The arrow’s tip was crushed as it slightly dented the Colossus’s armor plating and deflected to the side. A clear hostile act. One that even caused slight damage to the machine.

…

But the Colossus still showed no reaction.

Its eyes didn’t light up, it didn’t rise with a rumbling sound. It just sat there quietly.

…It’s broken.

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment and shame.

The Colossus doesn’t move. No, it can’t move. It only looks intact on the outside, but inside it’s already broken.

…In other words, I had made a fool of myself by being wary of a broken hunk of metal and non-existent traps.

[Kuk, kukkuk… Kuhuhuhuh! I wondered what you were doing, but to think you retreated in fear of a dead enemy! What a disgraceful display, like a frightened squirrel!]

Hersella burst into laughter as she understood the situation.

‘…’

Damn, I had no response.

If there were no witnesses, doing something stupid would just be momentarily embarrassing, but I had a nasty stalker watching me 24 hours a day.

I had made a complete fool of myself in front of a woman who was always looking for opportunities to mock me. What an absolute disgrace.

‘…No, in situations like this, it’s normal for it to wake up and block my way. How was I supposed to know it was broken from the start?’

I approached the Colossus with a flimsy excuse.

Close enough to touch it. The fact that it still didn’t move confirmed it was indeed broken.

This bastard made me look like such an idiot.

I swung Durandal at it. A slash filled with anger born from embarrassment. The roughly swung Durandal fiercely dug into the Colossus’s body.

– Kagagagak!

With fierce sparks, the armor split open.

Metal fragments, gears, cylinders, and pipe debris scattered in all directions. Every part was heavily rusted.

[Kukkuk. Having nothing to say for yourself, you take out your anger on that hunk of metal? I’ve witnessed quite an amusing clown show after a long time!]

‘…Really. Stop laughing already. When facing an unfamiliar enemy, it’s natural to be a bit overly cautious.’

Of course, Hersella didn’t stop laughing. Even after I had smashed and destroyed the Colossus into pieces. My fists trembled.

[Huhuhuh…!]

‘I said stop laughing. If you continue, I might strip naked and dance in front of Jahan.’

[Well, I’d like to see you try that.]

It was my trump card threat, but Hersella just snorted.

Damn, does even an impossible threat not work anymore?

After being together for nearly a year, Hersella understood me too well. Well enough to be certain that the probability of me doing such a thing was zero.

—-

-Kugugung!

Trying my best to ignore Hersella’s laughter, I chopped the Colossus into pieces and then flung open the massive stone door that had been blocked by its body.

Even without entering, I could instinctively feel it. This inner room was indeed the tomb where Rotholandus’s coffin was enshrined. I had reached my destination.

I raised my oil lamp high as I stepped into the room.

It wasn’t a very large space for one of the Great’s Twelve Knights. Perhaps the size of a prayer room in a small cathedral.

On a knee-high platform in the center sat a lone stone coffin engraved with the holy symbol of Elpinel, and the surrounding walls were covered with reliefs depicting Rotholandus’s exploits, like those I had seen at the entrance.

A scene of him receiving Durandal from a man who appeared to be Carlos the Great.

A scene of him piercing a giant’s heart with Durandal.

A scene of him slaying a dragon alongside other knights.

The reliefs themselves were so detailed that they gave a magnificent impression, but the content was just mundane and typical heroic tales.

I turned my head to the opposite wall.

That wall too was covered with reliefs of Rotholandus, and at a glance, they seemed to depict wars with other races.

A scene of him grabbing a fairy’s head, tearing off its ears and stuffing them in its mouth.

A scene of him cutting off a Werebeast King’s limbs and roasting him alive.

A scene of using a dwarf as a shield to charge through dwarf artillery fire.

A scene of him tearing people apart while naked…?

Wait a minute.

I rubbed my eyes slightly and looked again at the last relief I had seen.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t seen wrong.

There was no room for doubt. A completely naked man, with his lower parts dangling, was tearing people apart with his bare hands!

‘…This guy’s insane.’

I couldn’t help but laugh.

In games, there’s a concept of veteran players fighting completely naked, but in reality, someone doing that is just a madman. He’s not even wearing underwear!

‘Just like your ancestor, he’s out of his mind.’

This is one of the Great’s Twelve Knights? He’s just a crazy exhibitionist.

[My ancestor? I don’t know this person.]

Hersella seemed so shocked that she was denying her bloodline.

That’s your mother’s lineage, are you sure you can deny it like that?

Anyway, I thought it would be better not to mention this relief to Lacy.

If she learned the truth that the Great’s Twelve Knights she admired and praised was an exhibitionist with his lower parts dangling, she would surely be deeply shocked.